Cover Songs, YouTube, and the Law

One of the most interesting and fun aspects of Youtube is Cover songs. Everyone does it. For some it is purely amateur. Others are genius and people have been discovered doing cover songs. Unfortunately, cover songs are, for the most part, illegal.

What is a cover song? A cover song is a song re-recorded by another performer. Sometimes the cover song is done almost identically. Other times, the new artist ads his own spin. On YouTube you will find many amateur and some semi-professional artists doing cover songs. Some professionals do cover songs too, but you are more likely to find undiscovered artist doing cover songs on YouTube.

Some of the best cover songs on YouTube? Recently a new artist/duo called Karmin, did a cover song of Look At me Now, a Chris Brown song featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. They gained instant fame. They are that good. A couple of Lady Gaga covers are also doing quite well on YouTube and have gotten young artists discovered. Born This Way was covered by a 10 year old, and received an MTV O Award Nomination. Last Year Grason Chance got a record contract with Ellen Degeneres after covering Paparazzi at a school performance, which was then posted online.

So what is the problem with cover songs on YouTube? If you are very good and do cover song, you too can be discovered, but not all covers are welcomed so well. Some artists and record companies demand cover songs get taken off the site or muted. Technically, covering a song without a specific set of permissions is illegal.

Why are they illegal? If you cover a song without getting permission from the copywrite holder, you are breaking copywrite rules. This rule applies more specifically to recording and selling the song than singing it at a party. Now it applies to YouTube as well. After all, money is being made from every YouTube video, regardless of how minuscule the amount of money made or who is making it.

Why not just do an original song instead of a Cover Song? Sure, an artist could just create original music and get discovered in the same way. But first, someone has to find them. People search for songs they already know. They can only stumble upon songs that they don't know even exists. In addition to that, people are generally more receptive to songs they are familiar with and will be able to better judge your singing abilities if you do a familiar song. At that point, they will begin to explore your original music. Let's face it, there is only on Tay Zonday (Chocolate Rain) story to the dozens of artists discovered through their cover songs.

How to get permission to do a cover song? Most artist take a chance and just perform the cover song of their choosing. Either the artist and copyright holders will ignore it, love it, or demand that YouTube take it down. Some great cover songs will be removed from the site, and they will continue to do so. So before you cover a song, you should get permission from the band or artist, in writing, and put that information in the notes section when you upload the video. This is not easy. You have to research who the music belongs to and then contact them, probably by email or letter for permission. A lot of the time, you can get ignored, or turned down. Another option is to join a subscription service and pay for synchronization and recording rights. This can get expensive. But sometimes you get lucky and are allowed permission.

For more information on using cover songs visit the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and read this article on Music, Copyright, and YouTube.