Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A compulsory licence dates from 1909, after player piano rolls escaped control. The figure is taken from US Copyright Office, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a music fact?

Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A cover version needs only a statutory licence

A compulsory licence dates from 1909, after player piano rolls escaped control The US Supreme Court held in 1908 that piano rolls did not infringe copyright, so Congress responded with a compulsory mechanical licence the next year. Once a song has been released, another artist may record it on payment of the statutory rate, provided the arrangement is not radically altered. That right is why cover versions are so common. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

US Copyright Office

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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History trivia

More facts like this

American copyright now runs for life plus seventy yearsWorks published long ago can still be under protection after repeated extensions US copyright lasts 70 years after a songwriter diesWorks written from 1978 onward are protected for life plus seven decades Many old films have no identifiable ownerRights can be impossible to trace, which blocks any re-release American film copyright now lasts 95 yearsTitles enter the public domain on a fixed schedule each January One song pays out through several separate streamsPublishing, performance, mechanical and sync money are collected differently Composers organised a collecting society in 1914ASCAP gathered licence fees from venues and split them among members

Tags: copyright, covers, law

A cover version needs only a statutory licence: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A compulsory licence dates from 1909, after player piano rolls escaped control. The figure is taken from US Copyright Office, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a music fact?: Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.