All you need to know about cover versions!

Cover versions are new recordings of a previously recorded or commercially released song by someone other than the original artist or composer. Usually non-commercial in nature, cover versions are often created by amateurs and have no negative impact on the market value of the original work. With the advancement of digital technologies it has become easy for people to create and publish cover versions online. Usually amateur creators make videos of cover versions to gain recognition but a majority of these videos are posted without the consent of the original author of the work, which may land these young talents in copyright infringement suits.

Legal framework

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, brought many changes in regard to musical, literary and dramatic works, including changes in the stand on cover versions. The amendments were seen as a major victory for copyright holders, granting them better ownership controls. The amendment act of 2012 inserted section 31C in the Copyright Act, 1957, regarding the statutory licence that is to be obtained before reproducing any dramatic, literary or musical work. However, the parties always have a choice to negotiate and draft their own terms and conditions while entering into any agreement to make or allow the making of any cover version.

The terms for a statutory licence as provided in section 31C can be summarized as follows: (a) prior consent of the author of the original work has to be obtained; (b) the time period after which a cover version can be made is extended to five years from two years; (c) the cover version must now be in the same medium as the original, for example if the original work is on a CD then the cover version must also be released on a CD, the person making the cover version cannot opt for any other medium; (d) the person making the cover version must pay in advance a royalty for a minimum of 50,000 copies, however this can be negotiated to a lesser amount by the Copyright Board; (e) the cover version must not mention or refer to the original author of the work on its label, so the public is aware that the cover version has no connection with the original artist; (f) it must always be stated that the work is a cover version; (g) cover versions are allowed only for note-for-note and word-for-word reproduction, creative alterations are not permitted; (h) alterations in the original sound recording are allowed only if they are technically necessary for the purpose of making the cover version; (i) a book of accounts has to be maintained by the author of the cover version, which may be inspected by the author of the original recording at any time.

Manisha Singh Nair is a founding partner of LexOrbis, where Zoya Nafis is an associate.