Cover Song vs Remix vs Sample: What You Need to License

A cover only uses the song (the composition), so it needs a mechanical license for an audio release. A remix and a sample both use the original recording and the song, so they need permission from the master owner and the publisher. An interpolation re-records part of a song without using the original recording, so it needs permission for the composition only.

The two copyrights in every recording

To see why these cases differ, start with the basics. A recorded song has two separate copyrights:

• The composition. The melody, harmony and lyrics. Songwriters and their publishers control it.
• The master recording. One specific recorded performance. The label or artist usually owns it.

Each way of reusing music touches one or both of these. That decides whose permission you need.

Comparison table

Add a sync license from the publisher, and a master use license if you use an existing recording, whenever any of these appears in a video.

Cover songs

A cover is your own recording of someone else's song. You do not touch the original master, so you only deal with the composition.

US

In the US, the mechanical license for a cover is compulsory under 17 U.S.C. §115 once the song has been released in the US with the owner's authority. You follow the statutory process and pay the statutory rate, or you get a direct license from the publisher or through an agency. For on-demand streaming in the US, digital services pay mechanicals under the blanket license administered by The MLC.

The compulsory license has limits. According to the US Copyright Office, you may arrange the song to fit your style of performance, but you may not change its basic melody or fundamental character.

Germany and the UK

There is no compulsory license in the same form. In Germany, GEMA licenses the reproduction and distribution of its members' works for audio products. In the UK, MCPS (through PRS for Music) does the same. A straight cover is normally licensed this way.

Remixes

A remix takes the original recording, often the separate stems, and reworks it. That uses both copyrights.

• Master. You need permission from the master owner, usually the label.
• Composition. You need permission from the publisher. A remix changes the song, so it typically goes beyond what a plain mechanical license allows.

Official remixes are usually commissioned by the label, which coordinates the rights. If you make an unofficial remix and release it, you need both permissions yourself. Without them, distributors and platforms may remove it.

Samples

A sample copies a piece of an existing recording, such as a drum break, a vocal phrase or a riff, and places it in a new track. Like a remix, it uses both copyrights.

No safe length

A common myth is that a few seconds are always fine. There is no such rule.

• US. In Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films (2005), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that sampling any part of a sound recording needs a license. The Ninth Circuit disagreed in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone (2016), finding that a trivial use could be too small to infringe. The answer can depend on where a case is heard, so the safe approach is to clear every sample.
• EU. In Pelham I (C-476/17, 2019), the Court of Justice of the EU held that the phonogram producer's right can be infringed even by a very short sample, unless the sample is changed so it is unrecognizable to the ear.

Clearing a sample

Clearing a sample means two agreements: one with the master owner and one with each publisher of the sampled song. Common deal terms include an upfront fee, a share of the new song's publishing, a royalty on the new recording, or a mix of these. Either side can refuse.

If the master owner says no or the fee is too high, some producers re-record the part instead. That turns the sample into an interpolation.

Interpolations

An interpolation re-records a melody, hook or lyric from an existing song inside a new track. You do not use the original recording, so you do not need the master owner.

You still need the publisher's permission. Using part of a song inside a new work is an adaptation of the composition, not a straight cover, so the compulsory license does not apply. Publishers often ask for a share of the new song's publishing.

Video changes everything

Everything above is about audio releases. Once music is paired with moving images, you also need a sync license.

• Cover in a video. You need a sync license from the publisher. Your mechanical license does not cover video.
• Remix or sample in a video. You need a sync license from the publisher and a master use license from the master owner.
• Music videos, ads, films and games. All need sync permission for the composition.

There is no compulsory sync license in the US. In Germany, GEMA states that it generally does not grant the right to combine music with film or images; the author or publisher grants it. Some video platforms have agreements with rights holders, but those only cover what their terms say.

Changing lyrics needs permission

Changing the lyrics, or adding new ones, changes the song. That usually needs the publisher's approval in every major market.

• US. The compulsory license does not allow changes to the fundamental character of the work. Parody may raise a fair use argument, but fair use is decided case by case.
• Germany. Under the German Copyright Act, a Bearbeitung (adaptation) of a work needs the author's consent to be published or exploited. GEMA's licensing guide says it does not grant consent to arrange, adapt or change a protected work. The author's moral rights also apply.
• UK. Changing lyrics or the music is not covered by a standard mechanical license, so you need the publisher's approval.

Germany: Pelham and the pastiche exception

Since 2021, German law has included an exception for caricature, parody and pastiche (§ 51a UrhG). The long-running Pelham case, about a two-second sample from Kraftwerk's "Metall auf Metall," tested whether sampling could fall under it.

On April 14, 2026, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled in Pelham II (C-590/23). It held that pastiche is an EU-wide concept. A work must evoke an existing work while being noticeably different and must show a recognizable artistic or creative dialogue with the source. The court said the exception is not a general license for appropriation. On September 3, 2026, Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH, I ZR 74/22) applied that test and held that the two-second loop was a permitted pastiche from June 7, 2021 onward. Claims for the earlier period were not covered by that finding.

For producers, this does not create a safe harbor for samples. Clearing samples remains the reliable route.

Getting the right licenses

Before release, list each element you reuse, decide whether it touches the composition, the master or both, and add sync for any video. Clearhly is a marketplace in private beta where verified rights-holder businesses list music they control, and licensees can request, negotiate, e-sign and pay for a license through Stripe. The rights holder confirms, for every listing and share, that they own or control the rights they grant, and your license is a contract directly between you and the rights holder. The full legal terms are in the Terms of Service.