How do you contact who? Where do you find that info? Any other advice?
I've never had to take care of that stuff myself.

You contact Bapu.
(I assume you want to cover a Forum Monkey song, ya?)

 
 
Ok, actually, I would assume that there's a contact person for the work you wish to cover that you might be able to Google for (publicist, manager, legal contact, etc.).  Of course, there's no reason why you can't just do the cover first.  It's only when it becomes something you want to get money from that you'll need to get in contact with whoever owns the rights (because if you're not making money from it, people still tend to be reminded of, and go off and listen to, the original as well so the owner of the rights get some financial benefit from your cover).

Harry Fox is the usual commercial route to get a mechanical/compulsory license. You can roll your own but it takes a bit more work.
 
http://www.harryfox.com/public/MechanicalLicenseslic.jsp
 
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ73.pdf
 
 

Harry Fox Agency?
 
https://www.harryfox.com/

craigb
Ok, actually, I would assume that there's a contact person for the work you wish to cover that you might be able to Google for (publicist, manager, legal contact, etc.).  Of course, there's no reason why you can't just do the cover first.  It's only when it becomes something you want to get money from that you'll need to get in contact with whoever owns the rights (because if you're not making money from it, people still tend to be reminded of, and go off and listen to, the original as well so the owner of the rights get some financial benefit from your cover).

 
Actually, you can get in a heap of trouble recording a cover even if you never make a dime, and even if you never offer it for sale. The recording itself infringes the author's copyright, even if it is a single CD and it sits in a box under your bed until you die. It is true that you are more likely to face legal action for infringement if your cover becomes financially successful. Lawyers, like bank robbers, prefer to go where the money is. But if you depend on the publisher or record company (authors do not retain copyrights all that often in the music business) believing he will benefit from the free publicity he will get from your homage getting play, you are gambling. More likely, if your cover gets noticed, he will contact the website that is streaming it and demand a take down, or have his lawyer write you a nastygram explaining the principle of statutory damages under which he can be awarded the amount of 150000.00 for each infringement regardless of whether the copyright holder actually lost any money as a result of the infringement. The professional defenders of copyright can bring a case for a lot less money and trouble than you can defend one.
 
http://www.photoattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Getty-v-Virtual-Clinics-maximum-statutory-damages1.pdf
 

there's a chicken and egg kind of thing going on with mechanical licenses, tho.  when you apply for a mechanical license, they want to know how long in minutes and seconds your recording is and they charge you based on that time.  so if you don't already have it recorded, it's only a guess.
 
the best way, IMO, to deal with that is to record it first but don't release it anywhere until you get the license.
 
it might be technically infringing copyright to do it that way, but it's the smartest way, IMO.

Actually the chicken and egg situation has been avoided by the statute. You have 30 days after making the recording to serve notice of a compulsory license, but you must have the license before distributing it to the public.
 
 
"17 USC 115
(b)
Notice of intention to obtain compulsory license.
(1)
Any person who wishes to obtain a compulsory license under this section shall, before or within thirty days after making, and before distributing any phonorecords of the work, serve notice of intention to do so on the copyright owner. If the registration or other public records of the Copyright Office do not identify the copyright owner and include an address at which notice can be served, it shall be sufficient to file the notice of intention in the Copyright Office. The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service, with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation."
(2)
Failure to serve or file the notice required by clause (1) forecloses the possibility of a compulsory license and, in the absence of a negotiated license, renders the making and distribution of phonorecords actionable as acts of infringement under section 501 [17 USC 501] and fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509 [17 USC § §502-506 and 509]."
 

harry fox is who i used to authorize a cover (for sale) of CCR's 'bad moon rising'.
 
you pay up front, for 'x' amount of physical sales, i'm not sure about digital distribution, but i'm sure it's similar.