"I don't do covers"

[Methos1979]

We play mostly covers as we want to book gigs. I have great respect for the very few folk out there that commit to only writing and performing their own songs. IF you're good enough and IF you're persistent enough you might just be able to make a living at it. But most of the original material we hear at open mics is pretty awful and painful to sit through.

I've written probably 20 originals over the years and still actively perform a handful. They are even pretty good, catch tunes with great hooks. But nobody wants to hear them. If we were younger and driven then we might throw ourselves into giving it a go but we came to the party so late in life that we've found our niche playing oldies/classics covers for the assisted living crowd.

We love it, they love it, they pay us well to play for only an hour. Win-win-win.

[s2y]

I didn't play covers back in the day because there was a nice original music scene. I also had (and still have) a soul crushing healthcare job. My manager once told me anything over 40 hours was time and a half and cover bands don't pay that.

That being said, I plan on doing my own acoustic tunes and writing an album. I also plan on subbing with cover bands from time to time to play for much more of an audience and maybe make a few bucks. If the drama is too much, I won't sub for that band.

[TBman]

I'm not a musician and not a song or tune writer. I have tried in the past, but a decent melody had always escaped me. I ended up with a few not so good "elevator music" pieces, that's all.

So covers are what I enjoy learning and recording.

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by mike o

Anyone that says “no covers” feels it’s a personal waste of their time to copy another persons work/song and would rather create than copy.

Said like a true expert, but not at performance or discussion.

[Gordon Currie]

A lot of this discussion is just regurgitation of Career 101-style homilies.

Conflating popularity with value and filtering down to the most basic element of money.

The most popular restaurant on the planet is McDonalds. I'm sure glad that ALL aspiring chefs don't decide to copy that so they can 'work more' or 'satisfy more people.'

Playing covers is a choice, often made for financial and/or performance reasons. It's not the only choice an intelligent person can make, as there may be other considerations.

Culturally, I don't see musicians being castigated by the general public for playing covers (usually other musicians). But I do observe a lot of scorn generally for those who attempt to go their own way. (Especially ironic since people want new music constantly.)

As a result, I think a lot of original artists develop a massive complex and can often get defensive.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by BKinBWa

if you play covers, why

That's what people mostly want to hear, and why they pay.

We do sometimes perform originals too, because sometimes people like to hear those too. The percentage at our gigs is around 80% of covers. That feels about right for us, and for our usual audiences (small pub gigs mostly, free admission).

IME, to get away with performing entirely originals, no covers at all, requires two things: (1) a bunch of good songs; (2) real stage presence and charisma. Just one of those is not enough. Any musicians present will certainly admire good songs from someone who is dull to watch. But we are always in a small minority. Someone who has charisma but their songs are no good will bore even the most tolerant audience before too long. Especially if that person thinks their songs are great (which they probably do...).

[Brent Hahn]

For an audience that isn't familiar with you, a cover is a point of reference. If they like you doing a song they know, that's a step toward getting them to like you when you play one they don't know.

[Silly Moustache]

When I got back into performing, in '93 after a long hiatus due to illness, I had get seriously into the songs of the Texas singer-songwriters, primarily, but not exclusively, Guy Clark.
I was invited to join two or three "yahoo-groups" and was delighted to receive many cd "mix-tapes" made by my new American friends who shared y interests.

After a while, a plan was hatched to make an album of our own, but they had to be originals. We were all asked to contribute one or two songs. I found a small studio, and recorded three songs, and sent them to Texas.

Whilst all the others got one track of the 21 tracks, they used all three of mine.

Later we repeated the process, again I was given three out of another 21 tracks.

These albums were brought to the attention of Guy Clark, who gave us permission to make another collection album of covers of his songs. Three more of mine were chosen.

I was overwhelmed by requests for an album, so I made one which was distributed in ones and twos throughout the USA and Canada.
It included originals and covers.

I sold a fair number at gigs in the UK too.

I used to market as "Some of the finest songs you've never heard".

[mike o]

I should have said this before. Nothing wrong with having a “I don’t play covers” mindset either. It’s all good. Chase your musical dreams. Personally I have too much fun messing around with great cover songs.

[Dave Hicks]

There are plenty of great songs out there, which is almost enough to inhibit from writing anything, but still I persist and write one now and then.

So it's more a question of why I do anything other than covers, I guess.

D.H.

[Earl49]

I'm a happily married 60-something professional white guy with no substance abuse problems. So it feels like I have nothing to complain about, and whining seems to be the gist of most singer-songwriter stuff (outside of the professional realm). Our favorite private joke: do you want a block of cheese with that whine?

I have written three songs and two Piedmont blues / ragtime instrumentals which I throw in sometimes, but otherwise it is covers from me. My tastes run to more obscure stuff that many have never heard before, so if they are listening it sounds fresh and new, although I didn't write it. With songwriters like McCartney, Guy Clark, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot et al out there, what unique thing do I have to contribute?

[martingitdave]

Better be **** entertaining if you don’t do covers. Hell even the top selling artists do covers. It’s a bit of arrogance I think.

[schmalex]

Many of the best known performances of iconic songs are covers of other artists:
https://www.timeout.com/music/best-cover-songs

Just imagine Aretha Franklin refusing to cover "Respect" or Whitney Houston refusing to cover "I Will Always Love You"...

[wood&wire]

Jeez, I understand the allure and necessity of having to "make money" and "land gigs" but I didn't realize there was so much animosity around here against those who choose to write their own songs. Who do you think you're covering?

In fact IRL I have found nearly the opposite of the OP to be true. Self disclosure: I am primarily a songwriter but maybe 5% of my repertoire are covers. So I am not one of the guys who says he doesn't do covers but I am also not going to get a boner by bragging about how many covers I do know. When I have told other guitar players I do mostly originals I have been met with some of the same reaction as here. I have been accused of showing off when other guys were sitting around playing covers and since I didn't know any at the time, played an original. I don't understand this phenomenon. It's almost like they are more jealous than anything. Like since they lack the ability, motivation, or desire to create something original, that they have to poo poo on those who do have those traits. Projection maybe?

And I'm not poo poo on those who only do covers. You do you, which is my point. Like I said, I do play some covers to honor the artists I admire that came before me, but I get the most enjoyment, satisfaction, and therapeutic benefits by writing my own material.

[raysachs]

I’ve never written a song in my life and have never been inclined to want to, so everything I play is a cover. It’s not about what people want to hear - I haven’t played in public since the 80s. It’s more about what I enjoy playing. George Thorougood once said he never wrote any songs because Chuck Berry already wrote them all. I draw from a whole lot more songwriters than that, but there are soooooo many great songs out there and new ones being written every day, by people who are great songwriters. I don’t try to do covers exactly how the originals are played - I couldn’t if I wanted to and I don’t want to. I find the chords and then play em by feel until I can play a version of them well enough to enjoy.

-Ray