Many people ask the question "We want to include our rendition of cover songs on our CD, what is involved in being able to do that?"

Basically you must track down who owns the rights to the music and obtain a license. CMRRA (Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency) has a database and can also help by accepting an application for the music that is registered with CMRRA. Harry Fox (USA) and others also have databases that can help when there is no entry in CMRRA or if the music is destined for another country. There are many cases where the music is not registered and then more sleuthing is required to track down who owns the rights in order to make arrangements to obtain a license that grants the right to record/manufacturing/sell the song. In some cases this means paying the writer or publishing company directly. This money is paid in advance of the CDs is manufacturing based on the qty to-be-manufactured.  CMRRA accepts the licensing fee and then divvies up the money to the writers and publishers appropriately.  The CD manufacturer will check to ensure the music is licensed and they also use sophisticated software that does analysis of the audio to help determine if there is any unlicensed music on the CD. Each country where the product is sold requires payment for mechanical royalties with different agencies (such as Harry Fox, ASCAP or BMI in the USA). This only applies to music that is not in the public domain, with the rights still being with the writers/publishers. In Canada a songs license it is typically 7.7 cents per song, per CD. . . if the song is 5 minutes or less and then 1.5 cents/minute if longer for Canada. These rates are subject to change so please check with appropriate agencies.