A cover song is a full re-creation of another artist's song, without using any samples or recordings of the original track. If your song includes samples or recordings of the original track, then it is NOT a cover song. This article is only for cover songs.
If you'd like to release a cover song, you have a few options:
Option 1 - BEST OPTION - Try contacting the original artist or music label or their publisher, to see if they can help you license the track officially. This takes more time, but eliminates any risk of legal issues later. Try this approach first.
Option 2 - Contact the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) to see if they can help you license the track, so you can release the cover song officially. HFA can help license cover songs, but may not have the full rights available.
Licensing with HFA
If you decide to pursue a licensed cover song through HFA, then it's important to carefully check the terms of the license you purchase:
Sometimes HFA does not have full rights to the track. In this case, you may be required to purchase additional licenses from other publishers.
Sometimes HFA does not provide worldwide licensing, and ONLY licensing in the USA. If you buy a USA only license, make sure to speak with Proton to block your release in other territories.
Sometimes HFA can only license your track for download and NOT for streaming. If your license is only for downloads, make sure to speak with Proton to disable streaming for your cover song.
The cost of a cover song license from HFA will vary depending on how many downloads you expect to sell. For example, if you expect to sell 100 downloads, the cost will be lower than if you expect to sell 1000 downloads. If you exceed the sales of your licenses, then you need to notify HFA and pay them extra. For example, if you buy a license for 100 downloads, but later sell 1000 downloads, you need to contact HFA and pay them for additional licenses.
If you do decide to purchase a license from HFA, we recommend contacting the Proton Support team (support@protonradio.com) with a copy of your license so we can help you configure your release correctly inside Proton.