Editing Cover version (section)

==United States copyright law==
Since the [[Copyright Act of 1909]], United States musicians have had the right to record a version of someone else's previously recorded and released tune, whether it is music alone or music with lyrics.<ref name="straight">{{cite web| url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_324b.html| title=Must you get permission to record someone else's song?| publisher=[[The Straight Dope]]| date=April 21, 1978 | access-date=2009-04-19}}</ref> A license can be negotiated between representatives of the interpreting artist and the copyright holder, or recording published tunes can fall under a [[mechanical license]] whereby the recording artist pays a standard royalty to the original author/copyright holder through an organization such as the [[Harry Fox Agency]], and is safe under copyright law even if they do not have any permission from the original author. A similar service was provided by Limelight by [[RightsFlow]], until January 2015, when they announced they will be closing their service. The U.S. Congress introduced the mechanical license to head off an attempt by the [[Aeolian Company]] to monopolize the [[piano roll]] market.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Recording Industry |last=Hull |first=Geoffrey P. |year=2004 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-96802-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/recordingindustr0000hull/page/46 46] |quote=As it became clear in 1908 that Congress was going to give music publishers the right to control mechanical reproduction of their songs, the [[Aeolian Company]] was entering into arrangements with many of the largest music publishers to be the exclusive manufacturer of [[piano roll]]s of their compositions. Fearing that Aeolian might create a piano roll monopoly, Congress responded to pleas of other piano roll manufacturers to subject the mechanical right to a compulsory license.|url=https://archive.org/details/recordingindustr0000hull |url-access=registration |access-date=2009-04-14 }}</ref>

Although a composer cannot deny anyone a mechanical license for a new recorded version, the composer has the right to decide who will release the first recording of a song. [[Bob Dylan]] took advantage of this right when he refused his own record company the right to release a live recording of "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]".<ref name="straight"/> Even with this, [[pre-release cover version]]s of songs can occasionally occur.

Live performances of copyrighted songs are typically arranged through [[performing rights organization]]s such as [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|ASCAP]] or [[Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI]].