Music Covers: What Are They

Is there some fancy, new and inventive way to protect my music CD's that I am unaware of? If you read this title and something like the picture to the right came to mind, I apologize, but this is the not the type of music cover this article will be describing. Sorry for bashing your hopes against the rocks; although, I am sure that if you head over to Amazon, you can discover several hundreds of unique ways to protect your CD's from being damaged.

So, Josh what are you talking about then? You have all ready ruined my hopes and dreams. You had better enlighten me with this misleading title of yours! Don't worry my fellow hubbers; I will be explaining what a music cover is. Many people have probably not heard of this term before, so I thought I should bring to light what a music cover is. What is a music cover? Can you give an example of a music cover? What are the benefits of music covers? These questions and more will be discussed in this article.

According to The Free Dictionary, a music cover is a recording of a song that was first recorded or made popular by somebody else. So in essence, a music cover is a reproduction of a popular song whether using the same style as the prior artist or switching the style up with someone's own flavor. The majority of "cover artists", if you will, have decided to take this route for one primary reason: To get their name out there!

Many new artists that are unheard of (small time names) will cover a well know song in attempt to gain a following. Somewhere along the journey, when their following has grown in number quite successfully, they will opt to start singing their own original music. The danger in doing this is that the cover songs can gain so much traffic, that their original music fades away. If the "cover artist, is successful in making this switch, however, he/she will usually be able to become well known in the world of music.

Music Covers go back several decades, at least to year 1946, where one of the first music covers was produced. It was Roy Alfred's song "The Hucklebuck" which was covered by Paul Williams. Ever since this music cover, this term has been commonly used and is especially now, becoming a phenomenon.

Thousands of music covers are produced daily, and most of these recordings are immediately uploaded onto Youtube with the hopes of gaining a following. According to journalist Andy Baio, "There are millions of cover songs on YouTube, with around 12,000 new covers uploaded in the last 24 hours. Nearly 40,000 people covered “Rolling in the Deep,” 11,000 took on “Pumped Up Kicks,” 6,000 were inspired by “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

While music covers can be reproductions of older songs, the majority of cover artists will produce recordings of songs that are currently well known in the world of music. If you head over to YouTube and type in "Rolling the Deep", you will be shocked at how many people have tried to reproduce it. The different ages of people that do these covers is also fascinating. I have found kids under the age of 13 attempting to do covers as well.

Like I mentioned above, people of all ages are attempting music covers these days. The danger of this is that you can pull up a song on YouTube that you wished you had not done. It could be some of the worst singing you have ever heard in your life! Believe me, I have heard some awful singing, and actually have felt bad for some people out there! Sometimes, I have listened to the whole song, hoping that it will get better. Maybe they had a rough start? Perhaps, they had a frog in their stomach? And as the music fades away, I realize, unfortunately, that I will never be able to redeem those minutes I have spent listening to bad music.

On the other hand, I have heard some fantastic music covers that in my opinion, sound better than the original. The only problem is being able to weed out the good from the bad. The easiest way to do this is also difficult at the same time. You have to press your luck and start searching in YouTube for covers of music that you want to listen to. However, I have all ready done that, and will be starting a hub series on amazing cover artists that offer popular songs justice in every way.

At the end of this article, I will be sharing a video of one of the cover artists I will paying tribute to in this series so you can catch a glimpse of what a good music cover is.

In order to be somone famous, you have to start somewhere. It takes alot of practice, hard work and diligence. The spotlight does not come overnight. Even Justin Bieber started his career with performing Music Covers, One of his most famous Music Covers that made him known was his version of "So Sick" by Ne-Yo. Only a few years later Justin Bieber was singing "Someday At Christmas" for President Obama in 2011. Music Covers offer a singer the chance to gain a following and help him/her to become known in the world of music.

Because this idea of producing Music Covers is growing rapidly on the web via YouTube, I want to adress this question of whether or not you need a license to do so. This question is all over the web and has always been a controversial "grey area". I will attempt to explain this issue the best I can. A journalist from the Make It In Music Website says "Covering someone else’s material or song isn’t so much of a problem when performing live, but if you want to record and distribute that song as a record or a download, you’re going to need permission from the song’s publisher."

If your plan is just to upload your cover song on Youtube, then you are all right. But, if you start to gain a following and would like those followers to download their own personal copy, then you need to obtain a Mechanical License. To ob tain this type of license you...

1. Find out who owns the rights to the song you want to make a cover of.

2. Apply for the license.

3. You could also go through the Harry Fox Agency to receive your Mechanical license.

4. Other options instead of Harry Fox would be either Limeleight or Songfile.

5. You then must pay the publishing company for the royalties and rights to distribute your cover music.

If you are like me, you don't want to spend the hours and resources necessary to create Music Covers. So instead, I enjoy listenng to them to avoid all the mumbo jumbo! What are the benefits of listening to Music Covers?

1. Sick And Tired Of The Same Old. I enjoy many artists that are popular right now, but sometimes I like a change in my music. Music Covers provides me with that change in scenery. The "different voice" is what I enjoy in Music Covers.

2. Different Style There are some Cover Artists I listen to that will sing a song in a different style than the original artist. Just like the first reason, this change in style is also benefical to me. This change breaks the monotony in music for me.

3. Enhances Personal Repertoire When I can't decide what music I want to listen to, I immediately pull up YouTube and begin to listen to Music Covers.

Would you be interested in writing for HubPages? It is a fast, free and easy process! You can signup right here! In a matter of minutes, you can be writing articles that convey your passion and then share that passion with other people! This community is loving, loyal, supportive and will take you under their wings!

1. "Someone Like You" by Adele

2. "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele

3. "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye

4. "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry

5. "Firework" by Katy Perry

6. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars

7. "Billionaire" Bruno Mars

8. "Forget You" Cee Lo Green

9. "Starships" by Nicki Minaj

10. "Just A Dream" by Nelly

And If You Have Not Guessed The Most Popular One Right Now...

11. "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen

As promised in the introduction, below is an example of everything a music cover should be! If you are wondering if you should listen to music covers, this song should do the trick for you and make up your mind!

I hope this article was not too much of a snooze for you! I wanted to define what a Music Cover is before beginning my series on Cover Artists. The first hub in this series of Music Covers will be dedicated to Sam Tsui, one of the first Cover Artists I ever listened to! If you enjoyed the video above, Sam Tsui was the guy singing "Just A Dream".

Until next time fellow hub friends! Sam Tsui's tribute will be out soon!