Every week we get the same message from someone in Patna, Rohtak or Jaipur: "Bhai, maine filmi gaane ka cover banaaya hai, Spotify pe daal du?" Short answer: not yet. Covering a song in India is legal under a clear path in the Copyright Act, but only if you clear the composition first. Upload without that, and Content ID or a rights owner can pull it down in a day.
What "cover" actually means here
A cover is a new sound recording of someone else's lyrics and melody. You sing it. You (or your musicians) play it. You do not lift the original master, chop a sample, or put the film actor's face on the artwork.
Two separate rights sit on almost every commercial song:
- Literary + musical work (lyrics and composition) — usually with a publisher, a music company, or the writer/composer.
- Sound recording (the specific take you hear on Spotify) — usually with the label.
For a re-recorded cover you need a licence for the work, not a copy of the old master. Section 31C of the Copyright Act, 1957 is India's statutory route for that. The full text is on the Copyright Office site. The procedural rules sit in Chapter VII of the Copyright Rules, 2013.
The Section 31C checklist (do not skip steps)
1. Five calendar years must have passed after the end of the year in which the first sound recording of that work was made. A song first recorded in 2019 is not eligible until 1 January 2025. Recent chart hits are out. 2. Give at least 15 days' prior notice to the owner of the copyright in the literary/musical work and to the Registrar of Copyrights. The Copyright Office is at Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, Plot 32, Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078 (contact page). 3. Pay advance royalty for a minimum of 50,000 copies of the cover in that calendar year (the Board/Commercial Court can set a lower minimum for some languages). Rate is whatever the adjudicating body has fixed under Rule 27. 4. Send copies of your cover art / labels with the notice. The packaging must say in bold that it is a cover version made under section 31C. 5. Do not alter lyrics or melody beyond what is technically necessary, unless the owner already consented to that change. 6. Do not mislead. No original singer's name or film stills on the artwork. No lookalike colour scheme that makes people think it is the original release. 7. Keep books. Registers of copies made, sold and stock, open to inspection by the rights owner.
If any of those conditions fail, you are not under the statutory licence.
Why many indie artists still use a direct licence
On paper, 31C is a "you don't need the owner to say yes" route. In practice, the advance royalty has to be paid at a rate that has been fixed and published. Rule 23 of the Copyright Rules says you give notice only after that rate is determined and published. So if no published rate exists for your format, the statutory path is hard to complete on its own.
That is why most working artists — a Bhojpuri singer covering an older film song, a Haryanvi act doing an acoustic remake, a Rajasthani bhajan group re-recording a well-known aarti composition — go the direct licence route:
1. Find who owns the publishing / composition. Check the song credits on Spotify, Apple Music, the film booklet, or the label's site. For many Indian writers, IPRS is the first place to ask whether the work is in its repertoire. 2. Write a short request: song title, original writers, your planned release date, audio-only or video, territories (India / worldwide), and platforms (Spotify, JioSaavn, YouTube, etc.). 3. For big catalogue songs, contact the music company's licensing team. Example: T-Series lists publishing and digital licensing contacts on its official site. Other majors have similar pages. 4. Get the grant in writing before you schedule the release with a distributor. Verbal "haan bol diya" is not enough when Content ID fires. 5. If you are putting a video on YouTube or Instagram Reels with the cover audio, ask whether you also need a sync licence. Audio-only clearance does not automatically cover picture.
IPRS mainly licenses public performance and communication of literary and musical works for its members. It is not a one-click "cover me" button for every Bollywood catalogue song. Treat it as a way to identify writers and, where it administers the relevant right, to start the conversation — not as a substitute for reading who actually owns the work.
What to tell your distributor before upload
From the RMX side, this is where covers usually break. An artist uploads a remake, marks it as "original", and two weeks later Spotify or YouTube flags it. Then everyone scrambles.
Before you send a cover to any distributor (including us):
- Confirm the song is old enough if you are relying on 31C, or attach the written licence / grant.
- Title metadata should make it clear it is a cover (e.g. "Song Title (Cover)" or the style your licence requires). Do not paste the original film star's name as a featured artist.
- Use your own ISRC. Never reuse the original recording's codes.
- Artwork: your face or design, not the film poster.
- If the licence is India-only, say so. Worldwide delivery without worldwide rights is how takedowns happen.
RMX Music delivers to 95+ platforms for 3,000+ artists and 2,200+ labels. We keep your royalties at 95% and we will not invent clearance for you — but we will refuse a release that looks like an uncleared remake, because a takedown hurts the whole catalogue. If your paperwork is ready, sign up and schedule the release with the licence attached in the notes.
Quick "can I release this?" flow
- Is it a full re-record (not a sample of the master)? If no → stop; you need a different deal for the sound recording.
- Is the first recording older than five full calendar years and can you meet every 31C notice/royalty/label rule? If yes → statutory path may work; follow the Rules exactly.
- Otherwise → get a direct written licence from the composition owner / publisher before you book a release date.
- Planning a music video or Reels cut? → ask about sync in the same email.
One more habit that saves money: do not spend on mixing, mastering and cover art for a remake until the rights email is answered. We have seen too many artists finish a beautiful Haryanvi acoustic cover, then discover the publisher wants a deal they cannot afford. Clear first. Record second. Distribute third.
*Sources: Copyright Act, 1957 — Section 31C, Copyright Rules, 2013 — Chapter VII, Copyright Office contact, IPRS, T-Series contact.*