RouteNote has officially partnered with Affordable Song Licensing, a collaboration aimed at helping independent artists and labels obtain compulsory mechanical licenses for their cover songs.

With RouteNote, artists can now distribute their cover songs legally to streaming platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Nuuday, Anghami, TIDAL, KKBOX, and JioSaavn without a license. However, if they wish to distribute their music to all stores, including digital download services like iTunes/Apple Music and Amazon Music, they must exclude the following territories: USA, Canada, Mexico, India, and Pakistan.

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For artists who want to distribute their cover songs to all stores in the US or sell physical copies, they’ll need a mechanical license. That’s where RouteNote’s new partner, Affordable Song Licensing, steps in.

Established in 2016, Affordable Song Licensing has been assisting artists in acquiring compulsory mechanical licenses and takes pride in offering the lowest fee among any third-party licensing agency for standalone mechanical licenses. With Affordable Song Licensing, licenses cost just $12 per song + royalties, covering both digital and physical sales in the US.

Royalty rates, set by copyright law, remain the same regardless of the third-party licensing agency artists choose. These rates depend on the song’s length and their estimated download sales. It’s crucial for artists to monitor their RouteNote statistics to ensure they stay within the sales limits of their mechanical license. Royalty rates start at just $3 for tracks under five minutes and a minimum sales quantity of 25 downloads on Affordable Song Licensing. Learn more about how royalty rates are calculated here.

Acquiring a Mechanical License: A Simple Process for Artists

Affordable Song Licensing makes the process of purchasing mechanical licenses incredibly easy:

1. Sign up with Affordable Song Licensing.
2. Provide personal details.
3. Add song information.
4. Make the payment.
5. Receive the license!

After purchasing the license, artists should attach it to an email and send it to [email protected], along with the UPC of their release. RouteNote’s partnership with Affordable Song Licensing is designed to help independent artists and labels legally distribute cover songs, expanding their reach to even more music lovers worldwide.