How Our Prices Are Calculated

for cover song licensing

Our prices include the royalties for the copyright holder plus a fee for our services. There are no additional charges. Royalty rates vary by format (CDs, Ringtones) and are set by the federal government. Royalties are quantity-based. To get the total price for one song, multiply the royalty rate by the quantity, then add our fee. Each format requires a separate license and we have to charge royalties and our fee for each license processed. These prices apply to our cover song licensing services. View custom licensing pricing instead.

How much will your project cost?
cover song price calculator

Royalties

rates set by the government

+

Our fee

$16.99 or less*

=

Total

one song

How royalties are calculated

Royalty rate

CDs, vinyl, tapes: $0.091
Digital downloads: $0.091
Ringtones: $0.24
Rates for CDs, downloads and all other physical releases are a little higher for songs over five minutes. Learn more about how royalty rates are determined.
Check other formats with our price calculator

x

Quantity

Physical product:
Quantity made
Digital releases:
Estimated upfront
Learn more about how quantities are determined.
Please note that as a result of legislative changes from the Music Modernization Act, interactive audio streams are no longer available for licensing through our Cover Song Licensing service. In some cases they remain available via our Custom Licensing services. Please contact us for details.

How royalty rates are determined:

Royalty rates are set by the Copyright Royalty Board, and vary by format. The rates for ringtones are the same regardless of song length. Rates for downloads and physical releases are slightly higher for songs over five minutes:

5:00 or less
9.10 cents for songs five minutes or less

For example:
0:35 = $.091
2:35 = $.091
4:55 = $.091
5:00 = $.091

or

5:01 or more
1.75 cents per minute (or fraction thereof) over 5 minutes

For example:
5:01 to 6:00 = $.105 (6 x $.0175 = $.105)
6:01 to 7:00 = $.1225 (7 x $.0175 = $.1225)
7:01 to 8:00 = $.14 (8 x $.0175 = $.14)
8:01 to 9:00 = $.1575 (9 x $.0175 = $.1575)

How quantities are decided:

Physical releases

For physical releases (CDs, Vinyl, Tapes), license every unit manufactured, even if you won't release it right away. This includes copies you plan to give away for free and units you will use for promotion. Reputable manufacturers will want to see proof of licensing before they make your product.

Digital releases

For digital releases (Digital downloads, ringtones), you pre-pay for a certain quantity and you are covered up to that number. It's up to you to monitor your actual distribution and make sure you don't exceed what you have licensed. If you need additional licensing, you can easily reorder, and our fee is half price the second time around to make this easier. Learn more about licensing for digital releases.

Our fee

Our fee starts at  $16.99* for one song. You save money when you license multiple songs. Volume discounts apply to songs licensed together in one project.

Songs
Our fee
You save
1 - 5 $16.99 $0.00
per song
6 - 10 $15.99 $1.00
per song
11 - 20 $14.99 $2.00
per song
21 - 49 $13.99 $3.00
per song
50 - 99 $12.99 $4.00
per song
100+ $11.99 $5.00
per song
* Compulsory cover song licensing only. Does not apply to custom licensing and non-compulsory cover song requests.
https://www.easysonglicensing.com/pages/services/cover-song-licensing/how-prices-are-calculated.aspx