Last night, Mr. Scott Masson and I finished mixing a cover of Iggy Pop’s song, “Mass Production.” The original version clocks in at 8:25, but I trimmed off a little over four minutes that I doubt anyone would miss.
Included in my interpretation of the song are screaming children, industrial machines and samples taken from a German wool processing factory. I also sampled a squeaking hinge from a wrought-iron fence, tuned it, threw it into the sampler and used it to mimic one of the original synth parts. I didn't think it was possible, but this version is way more coked out than anything on The Idiot and I’m so entertained by it that I’m leaning towards including it on an EP release.
Included in my interpretation of the song are screaming children, industrial machines and samples taken from a German wool processing factory. I also sampled a squeaking hinge from a wrought-iron fence, tuned it, threw it into the sampler and used it to mimic one of the original synth parts. I didn't think it was possible, but this version is way more coked out than anything on The Idiot and I’m so entertained by it that I’m leaning towards including it on an EP release.
I’ve asked a lot of musician’s about the legalities of releasing a cover song and although everyone had theories about it, no one really knew for sure. In my research, I came across a site called limelight. Essentially, it’s a web-based service that secures mechanical licenses (an agreement that allows users to record and distribute a composition they don’t control) and pays mechanical royalties to the original artists and publishers on your behalf.
The initial process of clearing “Mass Production” took under five minutes. After creating an account, all I had to do was enter the song title, original performer, songwriter, publisher and then information about my own release: album name, artist name, label, length of song and when it would be released.
Lastly, I had to select how I planned on releasing the cover song and give an estimation of the number of units I would release.
In total, it will cost $80 for me to include “Mass Production” on 200 units of my EP. The initial fee to register a track is $15 and the royalty fee—calculated by # of Units x Royalty Rate—was another $65. Not bad.
Once everything is submitted, it takes 10-15 days for the song to clear.
I still need to look into registering the track with ASCAP and find out how this would impact licensing and royalties.
The initial process of clearing “Mass Production” took under five minutes. After creating an account, all I had to do was enter the song title, original performer, songwriter, publisher and then information about my own release: album name, artist name, label, length of song and when it would be released.
Lastly, I had to select how I planned on releasing the cover song and give an estimation of the number of units I would release.
In total, it will cost $80 for me to include “Mass Production” on 200 units of my EP. The initial fee to register a track is $15 and the royalty fee—calculated by # of Units x Royalty Rate—was another $65. Not bad.
Once everything is submitted, it takes 10-15 days for the song to clear.
I still need to look into registering the track with ASCAP and find out how this would impact licensing and royalties.