A Cover Is Worth A Thousand Words
Who watched Coachella – or should I say Bieberchella – weekend #2? Justin did something I never saw another artist do: He pulled up old YouTube videos of himself on a big screen and sang along to them. I don’t know how it went down live, but from my couch in New York, it looked like a very clever, community building way to connect with your audience. It was his way of acknowledging that he’s grown up with his fans. One fun moment was when he played a video of himself at a very young age singing Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River.” Timberlake, no fool, capitalized on it by posting the very next day, congratulating JB for headlining the fest along with footage of the Justins meeting for the first time. Gosh, I feel old.
The point of the above paragraph is to set up my “talk” about why it’s smart to post cover songs on your social channels and perform them in live shows. I know it’s certainly not a new idea, and loads of established artists release covers all the time. My advice is to make the cover so good, audiences want to hear it a lot. Then, they become fans of your new music, too.
Great Songs Reimagined
I’ll direct your attention to two very well-known songs that are forever identified with the artists who covered them: Whitney Houston with “I Will Always Love You” and Sinead O’Connor with “Nothing Compares 2 U”. The former written by Dolly Parton and the latter by Prince. Sure, Dolly and Prince raked it in with the success of those songs, but it was Whitney and Sinead who got the accolades, publicity and notoriety. Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” was made famous by Jimi Hendrix. Gloria Gaynor’s “I will Survive” is now a staple of CAKE shows. It’s not an exact reinterpretation (and some people like the CAKE version better). And wow, Aretha Franklin took “RESPECT” by Otis Redding and turned it into a feminine anthem!
So, while you’re trying to establish yourself or your band, peppering a set with a few covers you know you smash is a really smart and savvy idea. Using that live footage on your social media channels helps in two ways! It shows you can sing/perform live and allows you to engage listeners more quickly by singing a song they already know.
Prepare, Perfect, Post
The first step is to develop a few covers. If you’re able to play live somewhat regularly, then play a bunch and see which gets the best reaction. If you have a YouTube, Tik Tok or Instagram – post it. Yes, you may get a copyright claim, but you may not. On YouTube if you chose not to monetize it, the likelihood of a claim is much less. This experiment of sorts will help you see what track gets the strongest love. That’s the one you take to radio. RADIO!?!? (you just said!). Yes, RADIO! (I just replied)…make sure you get the right clearances though!
A Win in Your Back Pocket
When it comes to music promotion, a great cover puts a win in your back pocket. Use Play MPE’s Caster to get your song in front of key industry players, in, err, Player. You could try promoting two songs, like a single with an A Side and a B Side. One new, original song and one cover you know blows people away (because you played it live lots and know first hand!) The next thing you know, you could be getting radio airplay. Try reaching out to radio stations in the town the original artist came from. If it’s a rock song, try regional rock stations. You can send it to college radio, where they are more apt to play something cool just because they want to. Or, you can go bold and really blanket an entire region. Play MPE’s radio tracking tool MTR will give you quick real-time reporting, which gives you a calling card!
People have the tendency to be lazy and like what’s familiar (does the world really need a second Miami Vice movie?). That being said, a well performed cover of a popular track is a great way to get people to pay attention to your music. Then they might even keep tabs on you to see what you do next!! It’s like when you make a playlist of similar artists to you in hopes an audience will hear your song and like it, same diff but with live shows and radio.