Licensing Basics

Mechanical, Sync, Master Use or Performance: Which License Do You Need?

By the Starchild Music team · November 9, 2026 · 6 min read

A sunlit studio table with four brass keys of different sizes laid in a row beside a microphone, a pair of headphones and a small potted plant, soft morning light

The short answer

Start with what you want to do, not the license name. A cover released as audio needs a mechanical license for the song, anything with pictures needs a sync license, using someone's actual recording needs a master use license, and playing a song for an audience needs a performance license, which a venue usually holds. If you are unsure, ask three questions: audio or picture, your recording or theirs, copies or a live audience.

Which license you need depends on what you want to do with the song, not on the license's name. A mechanical license covers copies of the song as audio, a sync license covers the song with pictures, a master use license covers someone's actual recording, and a performance license covers playing it for an audience. Each covers a different right, and each comes from a different place.

This guide starts with your goal and names the license that fits. It describes U.S. practice and is general information, not legal advice.

Two copyrights, four licenses

Every recorded song holds two works: the song, which is the music and lyrics, and the recording, which is one performance of it. The U.S. Copyright Office says licenses generally must be obtained separately from the owners of each. The law also lists an owner's rights one by one. Section 106 names the right to reproduce a work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies and to perform the work publicly as separate rights.

Here is how the four licenses sort out.

Mechanical: permission to reproduce and distribute the song, not the recording, as audio. The Copyright Alliance describes it that way.
Sync: permission to use a song in audiovisual media, such as a video, a film, a TV show or an ad. It can be secured from the songwriter or publisher.
Master use: permission to use one specific recording. It comes from the recording's owner, typically a label or an independent artist.
Performance: the right to play a song in public settings such as concerts and live music venues. Performing rights organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR administer it for songs.

If you want to release your own version as audio

A cover of a song that has already been released: you need a mechanical license for the song. In the U.S. it is compulsory, which means that once the song has been released with the owner's permission, the owner cannot refuse a cover that follows the rules. Our guide to mechanical licenses explains it.
On streaming and download services: the services take a blanket license administered by The MLC, and the Copyright Office no longer accepts individual notices for digital deliveries. Check your distributor's cover-song steps before you upload.
On CDs or vinyl: the notice process still applies, with a set rate per copy. A licensing service such as the Harry Fox Agency's Songfile can handle it for you.
A song nobody has released yet: ask the writer. The compulsory license is not available until the first release made with the owner's permission.
A change to the lyrics or the basic melody: ask first. See changing a licensed song.

If you want pictures with it

Pictures change the answer. The Copyright Office's circular says a phonorecord does not include sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, so the compulsory license does not reach video. Its 2015 music report adds that sync licensing happens in the free market, by negotiation.

Your own cover in a video, on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or your own site: you need sync permission for the song from its publisher. You made the recording, so there is no master use license. Our guide to cover songs in film and ads goes deeper.
Platforms have their own systems. YouTube Help says cover videos can share revenue once the song's publisher claims them. That is a deal between publishers and that platform, not a license in your name.
The original artist's recording in your video: you need two permissions, sync from the song's publisher and master use from the recording's owner. The Copyright Office's 2015 report says the creator must obtain sync licenses from both owners.
An ad for a brand, a film or a TV show: sync again, plus master use if you use an existing recording, negotiated for the project. See how to get a sync license and sync vs performance licenses.

If you want to play it for people

A gig or an open mic: this is the performance right, and it is separate from recording rights. The Copyright Office's 2015 report says large commercial establishments such as bars, restaurants and concert venues often take blanket licenses from performing rights organizations, so ask the venue whether it holds them. Our guide to licensing songs to perform live explains who holds what.
A live stream: the platform adds its own rules on top. See singing a licensed song on livestreams.

If you want to reuse someone's recording or words

A sample, an official instrumental or a karaoke track: you need the recording owner's permission, and the song's owner has a say too. YouTube Help says the use of any commercial sound recording, such as an instrumental or a karaoke recording, is not eligible for monetization.
A song's lyrics on a shirt, poster or record sleeve: ask the writer or publisher. See printing lyrics on merch.

Three questions that settle most cases

Audio only, or with pictures? Audio points to mechanical. Pictures point to sync.
Your recording, or theirs? If you use their recording, you add master use.
Copies for people to keep, or a performance for an audience? Copies point to mechanical or sync. A performance points to the performance license.

Three mix-ups that cause trouble

Thinking a mechanical license covers a recording. It covers the song only. Using someone's actual recording is master use.
Thinking a venue's license or a platform's deal covers your video. A venue's performance license is about music played in the room, and a platform's deal is the platform's own.
Thinking a purchased download is a license. A download is a copy to listen to, and the Copyright Office says mere ownership of a copy does not give you the copyright in the work. See can you buy a song?

A worked example

Say Maya, a made-up singer, wants to cover a holiday hit from the 1950s that is still under copyright. She plans to release it as a single, post a video of it and sing it at a December open mic.

The single: on streaming and download services, the song's mechanical license runs through the services' blanket license. Maya checks her distributor's cover steps.
The video: she asks the song's publisher for sync permission. She made the recording herself, so there is no master use license.
The open mic: the venue's performing rights licenses cover the room. She asks the host to confirm.

Three uses, and only one request she has to make herself. Knowing which permission belongs to which use is what keeps this manageable.

Do this today

Write down the one thing you want to do with the song this month.
Find it above and note who holds the permission: the service, the venue or you.
If it is you, find the owner and ask in writing. Our guide to finding out who owns a song shows where to look.

Where Starchild fits

When you license an original song on Starchild, the uses most artists need sit in one agreement. A standard license covers recording and releasing your own version, performing the song live, using your recording in your own music video and lyric video, and promoting yourself and your music, including your own ads. Ads for a brand or product, film, TV, brand deals and other commercial placements need a sync license, so start at the sync licensing page. Adaptive sync licensing for film, TV, games and ads launches in fall 2026.

Every license comes with a certificate naming the writers, and /verify checks a license. Browse songs for artists to record, or see why an original can beat a cover.

This is general information about U.S. law, not legal advice. For a pressing run, a large campaign or any deal you are unsure about, ask a music attorney.

Sources

Find a song to license

Every song on Starchild can be heard in different styles and in your key before you license it.

Songs to license Songs for artists to record Royalty-free songs Music licensing, explained

Keep reading

Mechanical licenses, explained Sync license vs performance license How to get a sync license for a song Songs for artists to record