To my knowledge cover songs have a statutory right, while remixes do not. This article is failing to highlight how important a distinction this is.
You have the legal right to record a cover song, and the royalty is set by law. The artist can only block it later by arguing some change you inflicted in the composition and recording resulted in a derivative work ... which I would imagine is how the Cars example came to be.
Remixes you must secure permission, as there is zero statutory right to use even a millisecond of someone else's recording for any purpose whatsoever.
You have the legal right to record a cover song, and the royalty is set by law. The artist can only block it later by arguing some change you inflicted in the composition and recording resulted in a derivative work ... which I would imagine is how the Cars example came to be.
Remixes you must secure permission, as there is zero statutory right to use even a millisecond of someone else's recording for any purpose whatsoever.