Does your Cover Band have a Myspace page?

[::::BASSIST::::]

And if so do you have cover songs uploaded?

Are copyright issues a concern?

[Geddyfleaharris]

I am not in a cover band but I have seen cover bands with myspace sites and yes they do have cover tunes posted. I am not sure about the copyright issue. Maybe as long as they aren't selling them there is no issue. I really don't know.

[Skel]

I'm in a cover band with a MySpace page containing our recordings of about 5 cover tunes we do. Where I am, it's the de facto standard method of how clubs evaluate your band to make the decision as to whether to hire you or not.

I never even thought about copyright issues, to be honest. We're not selling CD's or anything - it's just a way for bar owners and potential followers to hear us, and here's the cliche cop out, I guess - everybody else is doing it, the bar owners, who know this ASCAP stuff expect it, so we figured it was okay.

[mytmous]

My band is a cover band and we have not had any issues with our MySpace page. We were however contacted by a legal firm representing Van Morrison asking us to remove our live footage of Brown Eyed Girl from YouTube. Needless to say, we took it off promptly.

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

And if so do you have cover songs uploaded?

Are copyright issues a concern?

Yes, our band has a myspace page.

No, we have not posted any covers. Only originals. That said, our leader is searching public domain websites to see if any of the OLD songs we cover are in the public domain, in which case (as I understand it), we'd be able to post 'em.

[Fine Cut]

we have a myspace page, and we do have cover tunes posted up. we do however, make sure to note that we do not take any credit for the songs.

[QORC]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

And if so do you have cover songs uploaded?

Are copyright issues a concern?

yes, we do, and no, we aren't worried

[GaryM]

If you are in the UK and you wanted to licence music that your band covers for use on MySpace you could get the PRS Online Licence, which lets you supply 45,000 streams or 5,000 downloads for £50. My covers band doesn't have one though.

[stflbn]

Don't put the whole song up, and just state who the song was originally recorded by. More then safe.

[zac2944]

My cover band has a myspace and we have cover material playing. We pay the Harry Fox agency to legally reproduce the music on CD, but I'm pretty sure you don't have to for Myspace since it is not a perminent download. What we do have is called a Mechanical License.

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by zac2944

We pay the Harry Fox agency to legally reproduce the music on CD, but I'm pretty sure you don't have to for Myspace since it is not a perminent download.

I don't know about US copyright law, but I see on their site that Harry Fox do a license for "on-demand streaming"...

[zac2944]

Originally Posted by GaryM

I don't know about US copyright law, but I see on their site that Harry Fox do a license for "on-demand streaming"...

I just found that. I guess I was wrong. You might need a license to stream your music on Myspace. I'm not able to find anything specific on the HFA site about it though. You'd think they could make this stuff a little easier to understand.

[GaryM]

So, to summarise:

You are supposed to have licenses for any cover songs (that are still copyrighted) you have online. It doesn't matter whether the songs are for streaming or downloading (though it may affect the cost of licensing).

Some things that have been suggested that might make copyright holders less likely to complain:

Not charging money
Saying "It's for demo purposes only"
Not taking credit for the songs / making sure to credit the original writers
Only releasing a recording of part of the song

[invader3k]

My old cover band had a few cover recordings up our Myspace for about two years, and never once had a problem. Heck, they're probably still on that page, even though we ended the band back in February.