Licensing & royalties
Mechanical Rights
Mechanical rights are the rights to reproduce a composition in a physical or digital copy — a CD, a download, a stream, a DVD or a copy embedded in a product. A mechanical licence is the permission that authorises that reproduction and sets the royalty owed to the songwriter and publisher.
In practice
Whenever a composition is copied rather than merely performed, a mechanical right is engaged. Pressing a compilation, shipping software with a soundtrack, distributing a training video on USB or delivering an app with embedded music all reproduce the song. Rates are set statutorily in some countries and negotiated by societies elsewhere, and are typically administered by mechanical collection agencies. Teams that plan for sync often overlook this second obligation until the manufacturing stage.
How SoniBuyout® handles it
Owning the composition means there is no mechanical royalty to license or account for: you are reproducing your own work. Unlimited copies, physical or digital, in any product, with no per-unit rate and no agency to file with.
Real questions
Do I need a mechanical licence for streaming?
Streaming engages both a mechanical and a performance element. On commercial platforms the service handles it; if you host audio yourself in a product or app, the obligation is yours.
Is a mechanical licence enough to use a song in a video?
No. Combining music with moving images requires a synchronisation licence, plus a master use licence for the recording. Mechanical covers reproduction of the composition only.
Related terms
Own the track instead of renting it
Sonify Music sells exclusive buyouts of catalogue tracks: one payment, full ownership, the track removed from sale and a named certificate of ownership.