Some of the world’s biggest hits by bands or performers happen to be cover versions or “covers” of songs sung by others, but for various reasons, the originals have not become popular or at least not as much as the band or artiste that has covered the song.
Songs that readily come to mind are Black Magic Woman, popularised by Santana, but the original rendition was by Fleetwood Mac. Similar with Eric Clapton’s Cocaine, but the original was by J.J. Cale. What about Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You? The first time around, it was a country hit for its composer, Dolly Parton. Although Blue Suede Shoes is synonymous with Elvis Presley, it was earlier a hit for its composer, Carl Perkins. Prince was the composer – and original artiste – behind Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, the Bangles’ Manic Monday, and Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You. Even if you were to look at hard rock acts, Deep Purple for instance, some of their earlier hits, such as Hush; this was a version of a hit by Billy Joe Royal, whereas Purple’s Kentucky Woman was a song originally by Neil Diamond, as was his Red Red Wine, popularised by reggae band UB40. Oh, the more I think about it, the more examples come to mind…
While not all “original” artistes appreciate their song being covered, some renditions (or “covers”) have obviously massacred the original; I can well think of Madonna’s version of Don McLean’s American Pie as one example. Cover versions are also part of law. The amended Copyright Act has replaced Section 52(1)(j) with a new section i.e. Section 31C, which provides for a statutory licence to any person desiring to make a cover version of a sound recording. The amendment clearly spells out that the person making the sound recording shall provide the owner prior notice of intention of making a “version” in the manner prescribed under law, including providing copies of the “version”, and paying an advance royalty at the rate fixed by the Copyright Board. More important, though, is that such “covers” can be made only after the expiration of 5 years after the recording/release (“publication”) of the original sound recording.
But there are no such riders or constraints in the more developed countries. For instance, while the US copyright law also says that cover versions require a licence for creating the version, paying royalties, and letting the songwriters release their original first, there is no restriction on the time periodicity for creating the cover, as in India, which is at the expiration of 5 years.
This rule has, of course, created its own problems as the worldwide web now finds instances of too many cover versions of popular songs, and subscribers are often not aware that they are not listening to the original. For instance, in a recent news item, it was mentioned that there exist over 600 versions of popular singer Adele’s Oscar winning song from last year, Skyfall, which her record label has yet not placed online.
When iTunes launched in 2001 (it arrived in India in December last year), there were similar instances when bands/artistes decided that they did not want their content to be available digitally, but, alas, all of them have relented through the years. Metallica gave in, in 2006; Led Zeppelin followed suit the following year; then there was The Beatles in 2010, with the last of the popular artistes, AC/DC, consenting to go digital in 2012. Till then, can you imagine the crores of rupees earned by sound-alike or “cover versions” when consumers streamed and/or downloaded their songs? The reason behind the innumerable cover versions is simple; all it requires is appropriate software to go with your computer, a microphone, and an Internet connection to create a “cover” and have it uploaded onto multiple websites. In fact, the ease with which a recording of a hit can be made can be gauged from singer Justin Timberlake’s song, Suit & Tie, which was released in January this year, but 180 cover versions can already be found on a single website, www.spotify.com, which is not available for India.
So while I personally have no objection to cover versions being created and uploaded — after all, let the subscribers decide what they want to consume, and when — but let them all fall under the aegis of existing laws, and let the websites make it amply clear that the song being heard is a cover, not a cover up!

The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years, still continues to pursue his hobby, and earns an income out
of it!