Legal Definitions - mechanical right

A mechanical right is a specific type of copyright permission in the music industry. It grants the right to reproduce and distribute a musical composition (the song's underlying melody and lyrics) in an audio-only format, known as a "phonorecord." This includes physical formats like CDs and vinyl records, as well as digital formats like downloads and streams.

Unlike many other copyright permissions, a mechanical right can often be obtained without directly asking the original songwriter or publisher for their express permission, once the song has been previously released. Instead, anyone wishing to record and distribute a cover version of an existing song can obtain this right by paying a statutorily set royalty fee for each copy or stream distributed. This system is often referred to as a "compulsory license."

Here are some examples illustrating the mechanical right:

• Independent Artist Covering a Hit Song: An aspiring musician records their own unique rendition of a popular song by a famous artist. They plan to release this cover version on digital music platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, and also make it available for purchase as a digital download. To legally do this, the independent musician must obtain a mechanical license for the original song. They will then pay a set royalty fee to the original songwriter or their publisher for every download sold and for a certain number of streams, without needing to get direct approval from the famous artist themselves.

• Karaoke Company Producing Backing Tracks: A company specializes in creating instrumental backing tracks for karaoke machines and apps. They want to include hundreds of well-known songs in their catalog. For each song, the company needs to secure a mechanical license because they are reproducing the musical composition (the melody and harmony) into a new audio recording (the backing track) and distributing it to users. They pay the statutory mechanical royalty to the original songwriters or their publishers for each instance their backing track is distributed or accessed.

• Video Game Soundtrack Release: A video game developer licenses a popular song to be featured within their game. While a separate synchronization license covers the use of the song *within* the game's visuals, if the developer decides to release an official soundtrack album featuring the original recording of that song for fans to purchase as a standalone CD or digital album, they would also need to obtain a mechanical license. This license covers the right to reproduce and distribute the song on the physical or digital soundtrack album, with royalties paid to the song's copyright holders for each copy sold.