Reply To: JoCo in the Media
Actually, for the purpose of synchronization licensing — licensing a work to use in an audiovisual production like a TV show — it doesn’t matter whether JoCo obtained a mechanical license (which is for publishing records, CDs, and the like). Fox would still need to come to JoCo for the sync license, because his unique creative work was being used.
I know this because, when I do Karaoke tracks, I seek sync licenses for the songs unless I already have one due to Creative Commons licensing or the work is in the public domain. (Some Federal courts have ruled that Karaoke tracks need sync licenses as movies and TV shows do; others have said they don’t. I err on the side of caution.) Most artists will give you a $1 (essentially free) sync license for Karaoke, because it’s good publicity; it helps fans popularize their work. But they charge much more — as they should — for movies or TV.
My carefully considered view is that JoCo’s version of “Baby’s Got Back” isn’t just a cover; it’s a setting. (Rap is really better classified as poetry than as music, because there’s no melody.) To call it a cover is to understate JoCo’s artistic contribution to the finished product. The melody, arrangement, accompaniment, and performance are entirely JoCo’s — only the words are Mix-A-Lot’s. Fox/Glee therefore needs to get a sync license from JoCo and pay him mechanical royalties for sales of the track (e.g. on iTunes). If there’s any question about whether JoCo is allowed to publish a setting under a compulsory mechanical license (this may hinge upon whether it’s considered to be a fair use, as parodies generally are according to the Supreme Court), JoCo should settle the issue by getting an explicit license from Mix-A-Lot, which would be unlikely to be denied. It could even just be a short permission letter. If the compensation is at the same rate as the statutory mechanical license (Mix-A-Lot hasn’t objected to that rate or to JoCo’s use of his words), then this makes the finances simple while making JoCo’s case even stronger.