Pomplamoose equals cover song hell |
The bigger fallout and issue that indie musicians face is the amount of music being created as a whole. Trying to decipher what is a great new track and what is a cool new artist to check out, gets tough when cover "artists" are spiking the punch and trying to game the system. As an indie label we are working to do whatever we can to cultivate a fan base for the great bands on our label that we choose to rally behind. Thankfully Itunes understands the big picture and that music is a reflection of our culture. Weeding out the hacks and maybe making things a bit less cluttered is indeed a step in the right direction.
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"For a long time artists and labels have found ways to game
iTunes. And fool the public. Apparently, iTunes customers have
accidentally downloaded “tribute” versions of songs they thought to be
the original. Some of these “tributes” sound awfully close to the
originals and come with confusing titles.
iTunes most recent Style Guide states that for cover or
“tribute” songs, they will no longer accept any song title or artist
name with the original artist name listed. Like “Problem (Originally
performed by Ariana Grande)” or Artist: The Billy Joel Tribute Band. And
the cover song cannot sound too similar to the original recording or it
will be blocked. So all you YouTubers out there, you’re going to have
to get a bit more creative with the production of your covers.
iTunes states for track titles: “Do not use phrases such as “Originally Performed By,” “In the Style of,” “Tribute to,” or “Cover of.”
Go to your local karaoke bar and be a star |
For Karaoke tracks, they make a slight
exception and will allow the original artist name in the track title
only if it is clarified as “Originally performed by… (original artist
name).” And “Karaoke” may not be used as the artist name unless it is
the legal entity like “The Karaoke Kangaroos.” However, the song must
clearly be marked (in the song or album title) that it is a karaoke
version. “Karaoke” or “Instrumental version” may be used. And “Karaoke”
must be the primary genre.
iTunes has already hidden most karaoke versions in search
results. Unless you explicitly type the word “karaoke” along with the
song you’re searching for, those versions will not be displayed.
The only exception iTunes makes for cover songs is to
include the artist name in the album title. But, the album title cannot
START with the artist name.
Acceptable: A Tribute To Bob Segar
Unacceptable: Bob Segar Tribute
They will not accept popular song lyrics as titles like:
Artist Name: Because You Know
Album Title: I’m All About That Bass
Track Title: No Treble
iTunes is actively starting to “clean-up” their store. So, even if your songs are currently showing up, they may not very soon.
Worth noting that Spotify and YouTube accept virtually any
song, artist or album title. They have very little restrictions. Anyone
can just skip a song on a streaming service. No harm no foul. iTunes
must have been getting hit with complaints and returns from customers.
In a time when their revenue has been dropping significantly and
consistently for the past couple years, iTunes is looking for any edge
to slow down the sales decline and hold onto their (legacy) customers."
Don’t expect to see this album to be visible on iTunes for much longer: