Cover songs: make or break?

There are quite a few famous bands that cover other artist's songs. Some songs work out quite good, other times you wish they hadn't touched the original.

Why would any established band or artist do a cover song? No Doubt recently released a cover version of Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver" and in the passed released their version of Talk Talk's "It's My Life". I wish they hadn't.

Sometimes a band releases a cover version of songs they really like or to show their admiration of a particular artist. Unfortunately in many cases the cover itself is worse than the original. Either because it is only an exact copy of the original or because in their interpretation of the song one of the essential ingredients is missing. Listening to songs like Pet Shop Boys - "Where The Streets Have No Name" (U2) and Madonna - "American Pie" (Don McLean) makes you wonder "What were they thinking!".

So are cover songs a no no? Not necessarily. But the orinal song needs to be handled with care. There's more to it than just copying the notes. It should be produced and arranged as a new song. And it should fit it into the artist's own style. This can result in some great cover songs:

• All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)


• Fire - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Jimi Hendrix)


• Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)


• Take Me to the River - Talking Heads (Al Green)


• Muse - Feeling Good (Nina Simone)

It can even make people forget about the original artist. How many people know the original Zutons version of "Valerie" by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse?

But for a band it's better to think twice when trying to touch a famous and legendary song. The risk of crash and burn is too high. Watch, listen and weep:

Britney Spears - "I Love Rock N' Roll" (The Arrows, made famous by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)

Ouch!

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Ticket market needs change

The power of the internet has opened new opportunities for musicians. Bypassing the big record labels with their killer contracts they can bring their music directly to the fans. Declining record sales make live performances more important to generate revenues. However this part of the market is also dominated by a few money hungry companies.

When I was a young boy my first big stadium concert cost me the equivalent of $20. This was in 1990 and I was watching U2 play live. Now I pay at least over $100 dollars to see the same band play live. That's a steep inflation. It is also hard to see upcoming bands for a friendly price. Nowadays you don't want to check out an unknown band for $30 unless you know it's gonna be good.

The declining record sales have made live performances much more important to generate revenues. However only a few companies seem to hold the right to initiate the ticket sales. Since concert tickets are becoming more scarce ticket prices go up and black market prices are exploding. Ticket companies don't seem to mind since they almost hold monopoly positions and are benefiting from rising prices. Musicians only get a small part of the revenues. Sounds familiar?

And nowadays the black market is turning to the internet as well. Many websites with names close to official sales sites offer concert ticket for double or even higher prices. How on earth are these sites able to get their hands on so many tickets? The official sites are only increasing scarcity by introducing horrific ways for buying tickets online and putting up ridiculous queue pages. And the recent issue with tickets to Bruce Springsteen concerts show that official agencies may even be linked to the secondary market. So in the end only companies selling tickets are taking advantage of this situation both official and black market. Don't expect them to change this profitable situation soon.

Maybe it's time for government regulation to step in and put a hold to this since the market itself never will. The initiative by NY senator Schumer doesn't seem really righteous. But it's time to cut out another middle man and bring musicians and fans closer together.
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