How old does a cover song have to be without having to pay royalties for

[Waite05]

performing it? When a song is made it is copyrighted by the original artist so no other band can cover that song without paying a certain amount to the original artist each time they perform it. After a certain number of years, the copyright expires and any band can cover it without paying royalties on it. What's the minimum age a song can be before you can cover it without paying royalties?

[Flatstick]

You don't have to pay royalties if you just want to perform the song live. If you want to record it and sell your recordings then you would have to pay a royalty.

[whograss records]

ck out library of congress music & copy right laws ,,,years ago in tha coffee shops around n y &chicago some artists were performin cover songs and got shut down by lawers and reps of music ind. ,,i guess they started gettin too popular threatened tha music producers, ihaven't heard of no recent episodes in past 20 yrs,but if you get popular they will find you,,,,,hope this helpes,,,,,,oll nick

[Nefertiti]

Because copyright laws have changed over the years, it would depend on when the song was originally copyrighted. Generally figure 50 years from the death of the copyright holder (the person who wrote the song and/or performed it).