help me cover a serbian song

March 12, 2010 10:47 AM

What are the Serbian and Romanian equivalents to Harry Fox? Help me put a cover song on my album legally.

I am a musician living in the united States. I'm recording an album and I want to include a cover song that is a medley of two pop songs; half of it is by the Serbian band Darkwood Dub, and the other by a band in the US. While I have a fairly good idea how to handle this in the US, I don't know what publishing company to contact in Serbia. Do the same copyright laws even apply in this situation? I would appreciate any help, including information resources on this issue.

Bonus round: I will probably cover Romanian songs in the future (particularly romani and manele stuff), so feel free to re-read this question substituting Romania for Serbia.

Thanks!

posted by Benjamin Nushmutt to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

Best answer: You're doing this in America. The same copyright laws apply as they would to any other bands. In theory, you don't even need to clear things though Harry Fox. Legally, if the song has already been officially released, your only obligations are to notify the copyright holder(s) and pay the legally mandated minimum mechanical rate. And you should capitalize Romani, since it is an adjective referring to a recognized people, like Serbian or Romanian.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 6:28 PM on March 12, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for your answer, Dee. (And funny you should drop by; I was considering asking you via MeMail. Also, the lack of capitalization was just a typo, but it's great that you are vigilant about that!)
posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 8:07 AM on March 30, 2010