cover tunes

[SoundAsleep]

what are the implications when recording cover tunes and then having them played on the radio and selling the disc?

how does the original artist and/or songwriter get credit for the work?

[DavidK]

You buy a mechanical license through the Harry Fox Agency.

[demensia]

There are seperate licenses for Physical Recordings and Digital Downloads.
The easiest way is to use Harry Fox's Soundfile. It is posible, with a lot more work, to contact each publisher directly, sending them a letter of intent. Having sent the letter you will be responsible to send monthly reports and royalty payments.. So while it may save you some processing fee's, In the long run, the cost of certified mail, and the cost of your time will end in a far more expensive solution.

CDBaby has some great articles about it.

-Luke.