leonardcohenforum.com

So is this the place where you can publish covers of Cohen's song...and is it legal through Youtube?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzzZ_KR5Ohc

Hi Flaxfield,

I think that was a pretty good cover of Leonard's wonderful song. I think he would approve of it. Thanks for posting it.

That was a good rendition of this song. It's got kind of a Middle Eastern techno thing going on.
I liked it.

M

I really like this... and have Favourite'd it.

Well, thank you all...
And it's only the first version... I have some minor changes in my head, but no time...
I am a Leonard Cohen fan since oh say...35 years...
And this has always been one of my favorites. Along with Chelsea Hotel..

Well please let us know when you put up more. I really enjoyed that.

I seem to recall reading that you are legally allowed to cover anything you want. Legal problems come in when you either a) use samples from the original or b) print the lyrics themselves. This makes sense when you think about how lyric sheets for albums usually skip printing the lyrics of cover songs. However, I'm not an expert on this subject. I found this quote from "Guerrilla Radio: Has the Time Come for a Full Performance Right in Sound Recordings?" (Kilgore 2010)
I THINK this means that the artist has no right to demand permission OR payment, but as I don't speak legalese it might mean that you have to pay a fee but they can't stop you from doing it. The two paragraphs seem to contradict each other on that point. That said, if Leonard Cohen showed up at my door demanding statutory compensation, I'd invite him in for coffee.

"Musical compositions were accorded statutory copyright protection in 1831, n45 and received additional protection under the Copyright Act of 1909. n46 The 1909 Act extended the period of copyright protection granted to works to a maximum of fifty-six years, instead of the previous twenty-eight. n47 In addition, the 1909 Act added a public performance right to musical compositions, n48 and protection to all the original works of the author when those works (1) were published and (2) notice of copyright was attached. n49 More importantly for musical compositions, the Act created the first compulsory mechanical license, allowing anyone to make a phonorecord of a musical composition without the consent of the copyright owner as long as the user complied with the requirements of the license and paid the statutory fee. n50 This license was originally intended to cover the use of piano rolls on player pianos, but now applies to covers of songs as well. n51

A year before the 1909 Act was enacted, the Supreme Court held that a player piano roll was not a copy of the musical composition that it represents because it was created for a machine to read, and therefore was not a reproduction within the meaning of copyright [*558] law. n52 As a result, the owner of the copyright in a musical work could not obtain payment for such a use. n53 Although the Court acknowledged the negative implications of the holding for composers, it declined to further address them, leaving the question for legislative resolution. n54 The compulsory license made it possible to record and distribute a cover version of a hit song once a recording was released, as long as notice was given to the copyright holder of intent to use and the user paid the set statutory fee. n55 The copyright holder cannot prohibit reproductions of this kind, and is forced to accept a predetermined statutory fee for these uses."

Hey Nonnymonster, thanx for your reply and explanation...

Indeed I somewhere read that an artist cannot prevent others from covering their songs, as long as the covering artists abides by the law, which means you should obtain a license and pay a fee, based on the numbers you want to sell.
But how do I obtain a license? And if I publish on YouTube I don't sell the song.... YouTube has solved this by paying the artist through their ads on the specific clip. But what if I want to publish it on another site, without a license?
Oh well, not to worry...It's legal like it is now...

I'm not to sure when I will put on another cover of Mr. Cohen. I have planned songs from other artists first..