For songwriters, the thought of playing a cover song is almost a sin. Song writers write songs…that’s just want we do. I’ve actually seen incredibly talented songwriters turn up their noses at the very thought of doing anything other than original music. As much as I love writing music, I also love playing covers.
I will never say that any song writer has to play cover songs – that’s the beauty of being an artist, you get to chose what you want to do. But there may be some reasons to at least consider, or respect artists who enjoy playing other people’s music.
- It’s How We Learn: When I first picked up a guitar, I didn’t take lessons. Instead, I book a couple tab books for bands like Nirvana, Green Day, AC/DC, and Lyndard Skinner. These books al
lowed me to play songs that I recognized: power chords, strumming, hammer ons, solos, chord structure with variations, and more are all part of learning songs. I’m willing to bet that most musicians learn their craft in the same way. This isn’t to say that we didn’t start fooling around with writing our own songs, even when we didn’t even entirely understand how to tune our guitars. - It’s How We Practice: Learning another song will often force you to try things that you might not think of on your own, especially when you start playing around with different styles and genres. I’ve stumbled upon some incredible sounding chords just by fooling around with cover songs, these chords have then inspired entire songs by the way they mix with other chords. As a songwriter, I think it’s incredibly important that we are constantly learning and trying new things. Learning covers is a great way to do this, although I won’t claim it’s the only or best way…but it is a way.
- It Can Get You Gigs, Paying Gigs: There are some incredible venues out there for the singer/songwriter, there is no doubt about it. At the same time, I find that these venues aren’t high paying if paying at all. You might get a cut of the door, get donations, or a general bar fee, but until you’ve got a huge following, it’s not going to be a lot. Of course, we don’t necessarily write songs because we want to make a ton of money, but getting paid to do what we love would def. help, right? Higher paying venues are looking for entertainment that will make their customers happy, dance, and buy more drinks. Unfortunately, this means being a live jukebox and playing songs that they know, that they can sing along to, and that they will remember. When I played in a bar band (90% covers), we were able to pull in well over $500 a night…which isn’t bad for a bunch of high school kids playing in a small town. This money went towards purchasing a good sound system and promotional materials. The gigs where we did only original music were fun, but they were almost always free shows or benefits.
- It Can Trick People Into Hearing Your Originals: One of the best feelings in the world is when someone approaches you during a break and mentions how they loved your version of Sweet Home Alabama (if you’re going to play bars, learn this song), but that they didn’t recognize the last song in
your set. They’ve loved it and wanted to know who wrote it…and you humbly let them know that it was an original number. There are some bands that really made their mark by doing fun covers. I immediately think of Boyce Avenue – an incredibly talented band who writes some great music. Their claim to fame was posting cover songs on YouTube which led to fans, tours, and more people listening to their original music than ever before. - It Fills In Time: While some gigs are meant for shorter times, like a happy hour, many venues need to fill an entire night…this might be even up to 5 hours of entertainment. While there are plenty of song writers who have put together tons of material, I can’t imagine having 5 hours of original songs to play. Of course, many song writers will play shows with other bands so no one is forced to play the entire time. The problem here is that you are now splitting the pay and the stage time with a number of different folks. Sure, this can be fun and might be a good way to bring in a different crowd, but a small festival won’t always fly with every venue (plus it adds extra work for the sound guy, promoters, and the venue). Playing covers can easily fill time so that you get all of the stage time and the entire paycheck.
- It Can Be Fun: Face it, there are just some fun songs out there to play. The crowd often gets a kick out of how a certain song sounds in your style. As funny as it sounds, I really like playing old pop songs
on an acoustic guitar. One of my proudest moments was when I first busted out an quasi-acoustic ballad version of “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul (check it out here). It took a few moments for the crowd to recognize the song, but once they did, they seemed to have a lot of fun. Besides, it’s a much better acoustic song than it is an 80s pop ditty. Sorry Paula, but it’s true.
Obviously, if you are a song writer, you should be sharing your music whenever you get the chance…and there are some venues and events that only want original music. If you can get into these gigs, go for it with all of your heart. You might even be playing a bar where the crowd loves your original music so much that you can skip most of your set list and keep rocking. At the end of the day, you have to be able to read your crowd and play what is going to work. Covers may not be your bread and butter, but they’re also not the treasonous acts that we might think they are. Play whatever you want, but please don’t look down on those of us who just enjoy playing music regardless of who wrote it.
Does your act include cover music? What pros/cons do you see in playing music you didn’t write?