Corporate Mechanical License


Summary

This template is a corporate mechanical license that grants to a record company in the United States the right to make and sell audio-only records containing a song. Mechanical licenses are generally issued around the time of release of a recording in the United States. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. This corporate mechanical license is fairly typical of the license that would be used by a large record company. Accordingly, in its initial draft form, it favors the record company rather than the copyright owner (i.e., the publisher) of the musical composition. The "Fox Office" form of license, in contrast, is publisher oriented and may be found here (this form is in general use by The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., which acts as a mechanical rights licensing and collection agent for many publishers). For more information on mechanical licenses, see Music Contracts — Music Licenses and Entertainment Industry Contracts P 178.01. For a summary of the most common ...