How To Earn Money By Covering a Song Legally
Two ways to increase your income stream
If you’re a music lover like me, you must have watched a lot of YouTube videos on cover songs made by recent artists. You may have even liked the new version more as compared to the original! Or you may not even know that the song you’re listening to is a cover song.
What is a cover song?
Some people call it a remake. Others refer to it as a revival, or simply another version of the song. It is simply a new recording of a song by an artist other than the original one.
Have you ever wished you could also make a song cover and even earn from it?
In this article, I will let you know about two ways that can help you earn money by making cover songs.
First, let us tackle the one related to YouTube videos.
This is one of the ways that can give you access to a brand new income stream through making cover songs.
Personally, I think this one feels like a “shortcut”. Why? Because instead of directly obtaining a license from the original creators of the song, you are using YouTube’s Content ID system. Through YouTube’s database, copyright holders of a song can quickly identify videos using their song and have the option to either disallow it, track the statistics coming from that video or monetize it.
Monetization could mean earning money from the ads placed on the said video or sharing the income earned from those ads. If you are lucky, then you can have cover songs that allow you to share the video’s income with its copyright owners.
However, be warned that this can also work against you! Note how I also mentioned that the copyright owners can run ads on your video and not let you earn money from that. Also, they can just choose to exert their right to prevent you from using their original song.
In worst cases, you can even receive a copyright removal request! You can learn more about the difference between content ID claims and copyright removal requests from YouTube.
Another approach that you can use is through DistroKid.
DistroKid has a feature that lets you earn money from cover songs. You can upload a cover song and distribute it to various channels such as iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music and more!
The best thing is that DistroKid will be the one to handle all the legalities for you. You just need to pay $1 per month ($12 a year) for each cover song that you upload through their services.
(If you join Distrokid using this link, you will get 7% off and I will get a $10 commission.)
What information will you need?
DistroKid will ask you the name of the original artist and the original song title. The song must also be released previously in the US.
Note also that the song you will upload must not contain samples or remixes.
This process can take up to 14 days. If you need more information, you can visit DistroKid’s Help Center.
Personally, I prefer this second method more than the first one. Just make sure you understand the requirements and never use any audio or recording you do not own. This includes the background music from the original song.
When in doubt, consult legal experts to avoid any problems later on.
I hope that you now have an idea of how to earn money by making cover songs! This may be the right time to share your musical talent with the world!