Critique Of The Defense Of Cover Songs - 1637 Words

Critique for â€Å"In Defense of Cover Songs† There is a belief in today’s society snowballing from the past that a cover song is merely a copy or rip off of the original. This dilemma is discussed in an article Don Cusic, who has taught courses in the music business industry since 1982 and is known as a pioneer of music business education. Cusic’s other accomplishments and credibility come from being a historian of country music, a scholar and writer known worldwide, and an author of over 209 books and 500 articles (Belmont University). The reason that cover songs are an important discussion in today’s society is because there is an increase in cover song creation and also a steady increase of criticism of cover songs. This is due to the†¦show more content†¦Cusic begins his paper with the effect of co-writing asserting that the artist loses much more money when they could have earned more if they had created a song themselves. He then goes on to explain how fans and critics feel the need for a song to be legitimate and that if a singer doesn’t create his or her own song they are seen as an invalid artist. However, Cusic asserts that fans and critics do not care for the artist’s reason for creating the song, and that the audience’s connection to the song is the reason why it is even purchased or seen as real music. Cusic affirms that singers who create cover songs are not any less legitimate compared to artists who create original music and that singers have their own way of describing what a song means to them. Next, he brings up the fact that a new audience can benefit a song, that history plays a major role in the belief of cover songs and that the boundary between songwriters and singers are meant to be respected. He explains that if an original song is covered, it receives the benefit of a new audience learning about the history of the original song. This strengthens his assertion that, â€Å"Many times a ‘cover’ is a history lesson for a new, young audience who never heard the original† (174). Cusic further explains that cover songs were created throughout time by providing many well-known songs and artists from the past like Elvis Presley and