Hi Simon

I looked into this issue further - mechanical licences as issued by APRA only cover "hard" copies produced for sale - eg as a CD. Digital reproductions (even for streaming only) need a different licence, called a Mini Online or Streaming licence. However, APRA also says that if I do not own the copyright of the work (as is the case here) I may have to additionally obtain consent from the copyright owner (and I already asked, and Sony/ATV said no). So there you have it. The implication seems to be that if you own the work (ie wrote it yourself) then you'll be okay, but then why would you bother applying for a licence in the first place? (Although of course if you have a publisher, then you don't entirely own your own work).
I also wonder what this means for all those millions of webcam videos on Youtube of ordinary people performing versions of other people's songs - I guess they're all illegal.
Cheers
Matthew

Hi Simon
Yeah, I thought that too, but was initially cautious as I don't want anyone getting sued. But if other people support me, maybe I'll just do it anyway
Cheers
Matthew