What is the benefit of pitching cover tunes here?

[hoknes]

OK how does a person possibly make any money if you submit to this listing????New Listing BLUEGRASS COVERS OF POPULAR SONGS (non-bluegrass; i.e. Foo Fighters or Kelly Clarkson or Rolling Stones, etc.) are sought after by a well-established Independent Label who specializes in creating Bluegrass tribute albums to popular bands/artists. One of their latest is called "Bleed It Out: The Bluegrass Tribute to Foo Fighters", to give you an idea of what they're looking for. They want cover arrangements of popular songs that are filled with great finger-pickin' and authentic bluegrass chops. You can choose any song you'd like to cover, but it's recommended that it be one that has been quite popular and recognizable. Previous tribute albums have been of Metallica/The Shins/Kelly Clarkson/etc., so the choice of material is pretty wide open in terms of style. They just want to hear your talent and your arrangements. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than July 22, 2008. TAXI #Y080722BGSubmit to this listing TAXI # Y080722BG

[mojobone]

It'll probably be a buyout. There's currently a trend of putting together collections of pop hits done bluegrass-style, sort of like the early sixties' mini-boom (boomlet?) in surf instrumentals. New Age shops commonly sell genre-oriented or instrument-specific CDs like all-bagpipe or all- panpipe collections. I expect they'll want finished masters and will pay in the neighborhood of $200-$500 per track, less if you do the whole collection. Not bad work if you can get it.The 'clone' covers are usually for TV, film or commercials where paying for the original sound recording would be cost-prohibitive.

[djdeweese]

Great topic-- I had similar questions after the recent listing for updated versions of classic rock songs. I got a forward for my cover of Black Sabbath's Paraniod for placement on a "major cable TV series." I did a different arrangement of the song but included the distinct riffs and original lyrics. My slim but determined hope was that if the song got placed I might actually sell a few downloads of the song after registering my version with BMI and arranging payment through the Harry Fox Agency. In other words, I didn't expect to make much at all on the placement, but hoped it might yield some revenue from online sales.understanding copyright law and placement fees can be quite a challenge. Does anyone else out there get the feeling that the lawyers and accountants have made music licensing so complex primarily to divert money from the pockets of us musicians into theirs? (Only half kidding--)

[mojobone]

Not kidding.

[hoknes]

So is there anyone here who thinks this type of category is really worth putting time and effort into ??

[devin]

Jun 19, 2008, 10:03pm, hoknes wrote:So is there anyone here who thinks this type of category is really worth putting time and effort into ??I'm sure there's some value in it...it would depend on how much work I'd have to put in to have something that's marketable. If I could crank out 3 tunes in a week, then I'd do it, as it might be another contact that leads to something else.Several Taxi members that post on the boards are getting forwards for covers (the recent Beatles round, for example).I've been watching all the "bluegrass" listings, as it's something I've played with before I even joined Taxi. I think the listing company is looking for a "go to" band to cover more than one song by the same artist. I read that the Czech Republic is really into Bluegrass right now... I picked up a compilation CD for Bluegrass...it was a no-name band doing all covers of mostly Bluegrass songs. It's a predictable style to listen to, but it's a technical acomplishment to play and record, IMO.I personally fool around with the banjo, but I'm not up to speed on the mandolin or fiddle, so I've stayed away.I typically play a few popular songs on the banjo and some are pretty transferrable ("Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi sounds awesome on the banjo...I call it "Ban Jovi" d'Oh! "Wish you were here" & "Another brick in the wall pt II" by Pink Floyd also come across well, including the solos). Unfortunately, I don't have the chops on all the Bluegrass instruments to give it a credible shot. I don't think they just want a cover song with some Bluegrass tones in it...it has to be a Bluegrass interpretation of a recognizable tune.

[matto]

Jun 6, 2008, 7:32pm, hoknes wrote:OK how does a person possibly make any money if you submit to this listing????New Listing BLUEGRASS COVERS OF POPULAR SONGS (non-bluegrass; i.e. Foo Fighters or Kelly Clarkson or Rolling Stones, etc.) are sought after by a well-established Independent Label who specializes in creating Bluegrass tribute albums to popular bands/artists. One of their latest is called "Bleed It Out: The Bluegrass Tribute to Foo Fighters", to give you an idea of what they're looking for. They want cover arrangements of popular songs that are filled with great finger-pickin' and authentic bluegrass chops. You can choose any song you'd like to cover, but it's recommended that it be one that has been quite popular and recognizable. Previous tribute albums have been of Metallica/The Shins/Kelly Clarkson/etc., so the choice of material is pretty wide open in terms of style. They just want to hear your talent and your arrangements. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than July 22, 2008. TAXI #Y080722BGSubmit to this listing TAXI # Y080722BGHi hoknes,The songs go on a CD they sell. While it is a cover song and you are not the writer, you would be the "performing artist" and as such presumably make artist royalties on every CD sold.The may also make downloads available on i-Tunes and such and you should get paid similarly for those.Since radio airplay and/or film/tv placements are unlikely in this scenario, you really won't lose out on much as far as performance royalties. And you artist royalty would likely be dwarfing the writer's mechanicals paid to the original songwriters.HTH,matto

[suzdoyle]

Hi there -- I'm new to the forums, but have been a Taxi member for 2-1/2 years (am loving it!). I've licensed lots of original songs over the past couple of years, as well as arrangements of both Public Domain songs and Cover songs. Here's what I've learned:Cover songs make money for the performer:1. from up-front licensing fees (when people license the right to use your arrangement in commercials, movies, etc.) -- You as the artist gets the license fee, and the composers & their publishing companies get all back end royalties (so when you register your song with a music library, e.g., you list yourself as the performer, and you list the full credits for the original composers and their publishers).- for example, a commercial might pay you $300 for the right to use your version of a cover song in their ad. When they license it, they get/ file a cue sheet listing you as the performer, and the composer/ publishing company as the owner of the song. When the commercial airs, broadcasters pay the owners of the song back end royalties each time it airs. You get the up front money, they get the back end moola.2. From selling your CDs and individual tracks of the song (digitally through iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon.com and other places that sell music. You get money for the tracks that sell, and the composers of the cover song get money from YOU before you release the track when you license the right to use it (usually via Harry Fox Online). You pay the composer/ publisher of the song a set fee based on how many CDs will be made AND separately for how many online copies of the track you expect to sell in digital format. For example, the average cost to license a song for a minimum of 500 CDs and 100 downloads/ year is under $100 (about 80 cents per song per CD last time I checked).With Public Domain Songs, it's a bit different:1. You (the performer/ arranger) register your arrangement of the song with your PRO. You list the original composer (e.g. Beethoven), assigning them 0% (zero) of the royalties (sorry, Ludwig), and you (the arranger) and your publisher (perhaps you) getting the rest. If the original composer is unknown, you would credit it :Trad.; arr. Your Name.(Unless your name isn't "Your Name" -- then you'd use your real name! Anyhoo, here are some other resources for learning more about copyright."The Musician's Guide Through the Legal Jungle", and "The Permission Seeker's Guide Through the Legal Jungle", both by Joy Butler, are two of the clearest books I've read about music copyright law. http://www.sashaycommunications.com/pub ... s.htmAfter years of reading eye-crossingly complicated books about copyright, these two books made it easy to understand.U.S. Government Copyright Office -- lots of articles, how to info, and forms -- http://www.copyright.govCreative Commons --how to license your music without expecting royalties (e.g. free to use w/ permission, limited use, etc). -- http://creativecommons.org/Here's where you can search for "who owns songs" (to give you a sense of how things are searched for -- keep in mind than, with ASCAP at least, the word "writer" refers to arranger or performer, not always the person who wrote the song.)http://www.ascap.comhttp://www.bmi.comh ... rryfox.com (online licensing of songs -- often has numerous arrangements and versions of single songs listed -- e.g. for choir, band, etc -- can be tricky to make sure you have the right version!)PUBLIC DOMAIN MUSIC RESOURCES:1. http://www.pdinfo.com2. Identifying Public Domain Music - http://www.pdinfo.com/identify.htm3. PUBLIC DOMAIN SHEET MUSIC - http://www.pdinfo.com/list.htm4. Music to over 500 public domain songs: http://www.melodylane.net/songlist.html5. Barbershop page on Public domain music (very clear info!)Copyright Basics for Barbershoppershttp://www.barbershop.org/web/groups/pub....0050.hcsp#P-7_0 MISChttp://www.harryfox.com/public/licenseeServicesDigital.jspAnd finally,Current Royalty rates -- http://www.copyright.gov/carp/m200a.htmlYippee -- ain't copyright fun? !!Suz

[mojobone]

Great post, Suz, thanks ever so much fer all them snazzy links!

[stevebarden]

Aug 13, 2008, 10:01pm, suzdoyle wrote:Hi there -- I'm new to the forums, but have been a Taxi member for 2-1/2 years (am loving it!). I've licensed lots of original songs over the past couple of years, as well as arrangements of both Public Domain songs and Cover songs. Here's what I've learned...Hey Suz, good info here. Thanks for sharing.Steve