Cover Bands Don’t Change The World

By Todd Henry

We’ve used the tag “cover bands don’t change the world” for as long as we’ve been doing the AC Podcasts. A “cover band” is a band that plays other people’s music. The most extreme example is the “tribute band”, which directly copies another artist’s music and style in the attempt to pay homage to their art. More subtle examples are the college rock bands that fill clubs every weekend playing the radio hits du jour. Occasionally you’ll hear one of these bands rattle off something like “now we’re going to play something we wrote” and a collective protest will arise from the club goers.

Why?

Because no one came to the band to hear the band’s original music. They are there to dance, have a good time and hear music they know. The promise of going to hear a cover band is that you’ll be treated to familiar tunes in a dance-friendly format with little variation from the originals. This is the expectation that’s been set. It’s the “brand promise”, and it’s just been violated in a major way.

It’s incredibly difficult for a band to make the transition from “cover band” to “original band.” In fact, it rarely happens successfully. The band is always caught in the netherworld between making a living/earning money and wanting to express themselves through their art. Even if they are able to successfully slip some original music into the mix, they will always have to stare down the vocal requests for the latest top 40 fare.

The only way I’ve seen a band successfully earn a living playing original music is by choosing to do so from the very beginning and by building a loyal audience for what they do. They stay true to who they are and are willing to forgo immediate financial return in order to build a long-lasting and loyal audience for their music. They are patient enough to earn fans one at a time. They don’t imitate others for the sake of quick returns.

This is not to imply that there’s anything wrong with imitation. It’s one of the key phases of creative growth. We must imitate if we want to develop our skills. But it gets tricky when we start making money off of our imitation skills. There is always the temptation to go where the quick money is rather than patiently developing your craft and your audience.

There are a lot of “cover bands” in the marketplace today. If their goal is simply to make money, so be it. But the products and people who really change the game seem to be the ones who are able to stay true to a set of principles rather than being driven to quick returns. They develop a loyal audience rather than a fickle one that turns away the moment they “play an original”.

It’s my desire to continue to strive to find my own voice and to try to weed out all of the places where I’m being “cover-bandish”. In the consulting space, this can be a very tricky proposition because it often means turning down more work than I accept because it’s not what I’m best at. But my hope is that the original value that I bring to the clients I choose to work with will create raving “fans” who want to continue to work with me and trust me when I develop new products or ideas.

Are you playing it safe in your work? Are you going for the quick return, or are you building your following strategically? Are you developing your craft and identifying your unique contribution? By the way, it’s totally fine to do this “on the side”. A lot of musicians are in multiple bands. But somewhere in your life you need to be working toward finding an original form of expression.

Remember: cover bands don’t change the world.

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Todd Henry

Todd is the founder of Accidental Creative, the author of The Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice, and an in-demand speaker and consultant .

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Nigel

Hi Todd,

Beautiful analogy. I was in a cover band as a teenager and can tell you that I am not a rock a rock star. It takes courage to make the decision to play only originals, it takes strength to be true to that.
Todd

I think it’s a matter of answering the question about what you really
want to do and then having the courage to actually do it rather than
hugging the shoreline.
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http://hongkietown.com Spike

The Beatles started out as a cover band. So did the Stones. The Beatles played 8+ hours per night, 7 nights a week in Hamburg, that’s what made them the great musicians and tight band that they were. It may not happen often but it does happen. There are no absolutes.
- Todd Henry
  
  Spike, that’s true and it’s exactly the point. All of the bands you mention (and tons more) cut their teeth by imitating others, which is how they developed their skills, but eventually reached a place where they had to choose between just playing other peoples’ music for the rest of their career or doing something new. The examples break down a little, because just playing rock & roll was novel enough in those days to be considered “on the fringe” and covering tunes was really common. But the point is that The Beatles, The Stones, etc., all reached a point where they had to make a break. Thanks for the thought.
Lang

I listen to your podcast and appreciate it, although I am not always enthusiastic about the perspective it advocates. This slogan is a prime case in point – what about classical musicians? Of course, your local philharmonic orchestra is not trying to imitate another orchestra, but they are also not trying to “constantly generate new ideas”. This notion is irrelevant to the level of artistry involved in a performance of say, Handel, which has more to do with craftsmanship and expression in a more subtle form than trying to create something new. Perhaps these artist do not fall in the purview of “creative professionals” you are speaking to, but it reinforces a particularly modern western perspective on creativity that emphasizes creativity over craftsmanship. Reminds me of a quote that Clifford Geertz, the famous anthropologist, picked up “Here in Bali, we have no art. We do everything well.”
- Todd Henry
  
  Yes! That’s exactly the point, Lang. Sorry if I’m not articulating it well. The point isn’t to do things that are “novel” for the sake of novelty. The point is to approach our life and work from a perspective that is unique to us, refined by practice and craftsmanship, rather than always looking to the work of others for vindication of our own efforts.
  
  A classical musician can approach their work in such a way that they are bringing the sum of their experiences, skills and passions to the music rather than simply imitating the musicians around them. There is a level of performance that is required in order to be acceptable, but once that level is achieved there is another level awaiting those who are able to bring craftsmanship to their work. A “cover band” says, “well…that sounds pretty much like the original. We’re done.” But that’s not craftsmanship. There’s nothing artistic about copying someone else’s work. The process by which we engage in the work is where art is forged. That is where we find meaning, and that is where we bring our uniqueness to the table.
  
  I love the Geertz quote, and I think it perfectly expresses the point. Life is art, and we must choose to approach our work with craftsmanship, regardless of what we do. This is what it means to find your “unique voice” rather than defaulting to being a “cover band.”
http://thoughtwrestling.com/blog Mark Dykeman

The cover band concept reminds me of a story that (I think) I’ve read about U2. Apparently they were so inexperienced as musicians when they started that they couldn’t do decent cover versions of any songs. They were forced to create original music because they weren’t a good cover band.

I don’t know if this story is true, but it’s an interesting twist on what you’re saying. We all know what happened to U2.
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Maxfees

I’m thirteen and I’m going to read your book soon but you podcast is awesome me and my brother are a band and he is more demanding about creativity than anyone he doesn’t let me play any songs by any one and he is only nine man you are awesome this is my favorite tag line right now your awesome
- http://www.accidentalcreative.com Todd Henry
  
  Thanks Max! So great that you’re developing good habits early in life. Enjoy!
mad about music

sick of it!!!!my son is in a cover band that arranges all the cover tunes they do and work hard at what they do and I am freakin sick of people not giving them credit. no they don’t do any mustang sally or any other stupid covers…to me the only people that profess original tunes…don’t have any gigs
- http://www.accidentalcreative.com Todd Henry
  
  Sorry if the point isn’t clear. I’ve never said “cover bands are useless” or “cover bands have no talent”. I’m sure your son is very talented. I’ve encountered some amazing cover bands in my day, and have even played in a few. The larger point is that lifelong imitation, or just parroting back exactly what others do, is not a path to making a unique contribution. If I only do what everyone else has already done that’s fine, but it’s not innovative.