Behind the Mic: How a Cover Song Can Boost Your Career

posted in: Features

Many bands start off their first practice by learning a cover song, but even seasoned acts can benefit from playing someone else’s music.

A cover song can be a great career booster, and an easy way to reach a wider audience. People love to hear new takes on old favorites, as proven by the popularity of cover compilations like Fearless Records’ Punk Goes… collection.

It may seem strange to use someone else’s music for your own benefit, but a cover can actually be a powerful promotional tool. Once you have a solid recording, upload it into a movie-making program, like iMovie, so that it can be posted on YouTube. While you can make the video a still shot with your band’s name and URL on it, shooting a music video for the cover song will show off your creativity and personality as a band. Best of all, it doesn’t need to cost a penny.

Case in point: The Fold. The band were previously signed to Tooth & Nail Records, but decided to cut ties in 2008 and have remained unsigned ever since. This past December, they released a parody version of Miley Cyrus’ hit “Party in the U.S.A,” this time titled “Every Band in the U.S.A.” The song’s lyrics were re-written to poke fun at the pop-punk scene, specifically how playing a Miley Cyrus cover can instantly win over an unenthusiastic crowd.

The laugh-out-loud video, which was shot completely on an iPhone, quickly gained national attention and has racked up over 345,000 views on YouTube. It was even promoted by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low (a band that was name-dropped in the video as refusing to tour with The Fold) on Twitter. The Fold also made the song available for free download on their Web site (remember-charging money for a cover song without permission is illegal!) and even got an endorsement from Glamour Kills clothing for a t-shirt after mentioning their lack of sponsorship in the song.

One more thing: before you unleash your video to the world, make sure that it is tagged appropriately with the song name, the original artist’s name and your name. This will ensure that anyone who searches YouTube for the original song, or for covers of it, will be able to see your video as well. Once the video is up, get to work promoting it on all of the social media accounts you have!

As The Fold’s drummer Mark Rhoades commented, YouTube is the new MTV, and you don’t need big marketing money to reach new fans.