The short answer: This is the license you need to release and distribute an audio-only cover song. If you were sent here by a digital distributor, CD duplicator, or vinyl pressing plant to get a license so that you can release a cover song, they sent you here for a mechanical license.
A more in-depth answer: Mechanical licenses are a legal way for you to release your performance or “cover” of a musical composition that you didn’t write. These licenses are granted by the copyright holder (often a publisher). If you record a song that you didn’t write, you can contact the copyright holder yourself and negotiate directly with them. They can say “No, you can’t use my work,” or ask for a one-time fee. Some of them will direct you to a less affordable third-party licensing company.
However, copyright law has included compulsory licensing provisions so that anyone can obtain a compulsory mechanical license for musical compositions that have previously been recorded and distributed. Compulsory licensing provisions allow you to release your rendition or cover of any song (with some limitations) legally.
We follow the series of steps required to obtain a compulsory mechanical license for you (as stated in Copyright Act Section 115).