Hi, all. So I am a South African living abroad, and I have a question. See, I’m an amateur musician, and I want to record a cover of the song “Blou Blou Lug” by Seeleeu Leipoldt for my next album. The problem is that I can’t seem to find out how to navigate the copyright situation. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes here. Is there a database somewhere that I can search to figure out who owns this song?
TL;DR: I need info on the copyright of an old Afrikaans song for the purpose of releasing a cover version.
Okay, so I sent an email to Eckard Potgieter, but he has not replied. I also found the Seeleeu Leipoldt Band on Facebook and sent them a message, but I didn’t get a reply from them either. So I guess it’s not happening any time soon. God, I hate copyright. It’s just so frustrating. But either way, the album is going forward, and I already have ten songs recorded for it. I’ll definitely post it to this group when I release it.