Covers, remixes and samples: the documents we need
Covers, remixes, samples and public-domain works all distribute through Run. What each one has to carry, where you attach it, and what is never accepted.
Yes. Covers, remixes, tracks built on samples and arrangements of public-domain works all go out through Run like anything else. What they carry with them is the difference: each one needs the document that shows you are allowed to release it, attached to the track before you submit.
The burden of proof is yours. Run checks that a document is there and a reviewer reads it, but Run does not obtain clearances for you, does not negotiate with publishers or rights holders, and does not give legal advice. If you cannot show the permission, the release does not ship.
What each situation needs
| Situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Cover of someone else’s song | A cover or mechanical licence covering the territories you are releasing in |
| Remix of someone else’s track | Written permission for both sides: the recording (the master) and the composition |
| A track built on a sample | The clearance for every sample, exclusive or non-exclusive |
| A compilation of other people’s recordings | Control of, or clearance for, every recording on it |
| An arrangement of a public-domain work | Proof that the work is public domain in the territories concerned |
| A real person’s voice or likeness rendered by AI | That person’s explicit written consent |
Where you attach it in the release form
The track questions drive this. In the Tracks section of the wizard, each track carries two fields that decide what it has to prove.
- Set Composition to “Original composition”, “Cover song” or “Public domain”.
- Set Commercial samples to “None”, “Licensed (exclusive)” or “Licensed (non-exclusive)”.
- Anything other than an original composition with no samples opens a Rights & clearance block on that track, with one row per document required.
- Upload the document on that row, as a PDF or an image. The row ticks when it is satisfied.
- Submit stays blocked while a row is unsatisfied, and the checks look for the same documents again after you submit.
Answer these honestly even when it costs you a document. An undeclared cover is not a shortcut: content matching usually hears it, the release stops anyway, and it arrives at a reviewer with a discrepancy attached rather than a licence.
Public domain is two questions, not one
A composition falling out of copyright does not put the recordings of it into the public domain. Those are separate rights with separate clocks, and copyright terms differ by country, which is why the proof has to be territory-specific: Run delivers worldwide, so a work that is free in one country and not in another is a problem you have to resolve before you release.
The recording is looked at on its own. An old recording of a public-domain piece usually still belongs to whoever made it. Your own new performance of a public-domain composition is the clean case.
When the form does not ask for it
The release form opens an upload row for covers, public-domain works and samples, because those are the three cases the track fields can detect. Other situations still need their paperwork even though nothing asks you for it on the spot:
- A remix needs written authorisation from the owner of the recording and from the publisher of the composition. Have it before you submit.
- A voice or likeness of a real person produced with AI needs that person’s explicit written consent, on top of the AI disclosure. An original synthetic voice that belongs to nobody needs no consent, and ships normally.
- A compilation of recordings you did not make needs control of, or clearance for, every recording on it.
Keep the document ready either way. If a reviewer asks for it, or if you would rather send it up front, open a support request pinned to the release and attach the file there.
What is never accepted
- Karaoke and backing-track versions, including anything titled “originally performed by”.
- Soundalikes, including “in the style of” titling, whether or not AI was involved.
- Voice clones: an AI rendering of a real artist’s voice, and “AI cover” or “AI voice” versions of other people’s songs.
These are refused outright. No document changes the answer, because the problem is what the release is rather than what it is missing. The full list is in prohibited content.
What the content match will do
Content matching compares every track against recordings that are already out. A cover is supposed to trigger it: the composition is the same, the performance is not, and that is precisely what the check hears. The match is a flag, not a rejection. It reaches the reviewer next to the licence you attached, and the two together are what gets the release approved.
An undeclared match is the expensive version: it reaches the reviewer with nothing to explain it, and the release waits while that gets sorted out. See what our review checks.
Content ID is a separate answer
Covers, public-domain works and sampled tracks cannot go into Content ID. Those networks register your recording as a reference and claim other people’s uploads against it, so they only accept recordings you own outright: covers, public-domain works, licensed samples and fully AI-generated audio are all ineligible, and the release form blocks the combination. See choosing stores and Content ID.