Hey, everyone!
A common request I get is to make my instrumental covers available for download so people can use them for contests and such. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, it's harder to release these songs than my original music. However, I recently joined a site called Loudr which helps me handle all that stuff. To test it out, I decided to submit one of my most requested covers, Rolling in the Deep by Adele. I had to wait a bit for approval but it is now available to download!
Thought I'd also take the time to answer any potential questions you may have about this. I posted this a little while ago on my Facebook page so I might as well just copy and paste that here. If you have any other questions, leave a comment below!
Q: "Why does it take so long?"
A: Cover songs are hard to legitimately release. It's tough to get the
proper licenses for it. The platform I'm using requires at least 1 month
to review the submission. Keep in mind, the company will be observing
the holidays, so there is a possibility the song will be delayed.
Q: "I thought you were releasing all your music for free."
A: Yes. All my original music I plan to release for free and as a pay
what you want option. However, covers are different. If I was to release
it on a similar popular platform like I do for original music (BandCamp
for now, to be expanded later), the minimum I can release it for is
whatever the license and royalty costs for the song(s) will be. If I'm
releasing something I have to charge for, I want to make sure I can get
some of that back to help support me and continue making more, and not
be giving all the money to the original artists and distributors.
Q: "Why $1.50?"
A: With the percent cuts from the distributor, original artist,
potential collaborators, and additional possible distribution platforms,
I make a very small amount from each sale. I feel like $1.50 is the
sweet spot between ideal price point and what I feel is appropriate
compensation for the work put into the song. However, this is a test run
so depending on how this works out, prices for future covers may be
more or less, accordingly.
