Just had a proper look at this thread for the first time as it seems to have been resurrected and didn't wade through it all, so apologies if someone has already covered this.Petseri wrote:In case anyone needs a link to this reference, just go to this thread. Too bad it never got completed.Motz wrote:Hence "similar"
However, it seems about as legal as "The Singer's Turn" (which Quiffy was fine with) so I don't envisage it bringing more legal bugbears with it than that, provided that it's not distributed on hard media / for profit.
As for legality, recording should not be a problem. You do not need permission to record a cover, although asking does not hurt. Selling it could be touchy because of the matter of royalties.
Not trying to dissuade anyone, as I've done covers myself and as long as no money's being made I think it's a nice idea. Might even have a bash at one myself if it gathers momentum again and I ever get organised. BUT, purely as a point of information, it's worth pointing out that actually you do need permission to record a cover - or any version - of a song, as the writer owns all rights to it. There are specific copyright clauses dealing with recording rights and if anyone did decide to get legal (which doesn't seem to have happened so far), you'd be in breach of them. I suppose it's roughly on a par with bootlegging, so if everyone's fine with it and no money's changing hands then things should be okay, but everyone should know where they stand.
Hope that clarifies things a little.