Suppose I want to use a Van Halen song in a video on my ecommerce site...

You have to license the rights for the Master Recording (Recording of the song by the band), and get the Publishing Rights (rights to the lyrics and written part of the song)

Master Recording Rights are owned by the Record Company that put out the song, sometimes the band itself owns them – but this is rare these days.

Publishing Rights are owned by the writer of the song, sometimes a band member, but this has to be licensed through the publishing company. (Sometimes a subsidiary of the Record Company)

However, just a warning, licensing music can be VERY, VERY expensive. I suggest finding another song through a music library. These companies make music for Film, TV, commercials, etc. and often have tracks very similar to popular ones. Not to mention you;d be spending $200 – $500 versus $3,000 and up.

Some libraries are:

Pfilbryte Music – http://www.pfilbryte.com/
Audio Network – http://www.audionetworkplc.com/

Good luck!

I’m not a lawyer, but I know is some instances that you can use like 30 seconds or so without having to pay. Look into that.