Cover Song vs Original Song Distribution: Key Differences Explained
Cover Song vs Original Song Distribution: Key Differences Explained
Distributing a cover song and distributing an original song look identical from the outside — you upload a file, fill in metadata, choose your platforms, and hit submit. But behind that process, the two are fundamentally different in licensing, copyright ownership, royalty structure, metadata requirements, and long-term strategy.
This guide breaks down every meaningful difference between distributing a cover song and distributing original music — so you know exactly what changes, what costs more, and what works better for each type of release.
The Core Difference: Who Owns What
Every song has two separate copyrights — and understanding which ones you own is the foundation of everything else:
Master recording copyright (your specific performance)
You own it
You own it — you recorded it
With an original song, you own both copyrights. With a cover, you own only the master recording. The composition belongs to whoever wrote the song — and this single fact drives every other difference between distributing a cover and distributing an original.
Licensing: The Biggest Practical Difference
Original songs
No licensing required from any third party. You own the composition and the master recording. When you upload an original to your distributor, there are no external rights holders to notify or pay — you simply distribute and collect all royalties.
Cover songs
A mechanical license is required before distribution. This is the legal authorization to reproduce and distribute a copyrighted composition that belongs to someone else. Without it, the original publisher can issue a takedown, claim all revenue, and pursue statutory damages of up to $150,000 per track.
The good news: the compulsory licensing system means the original rights holder cannot refuse to license the composition for a cover — you pay the required mechanical royalties, and the license is yours. Most distributors, including Globex Music, handle this automatically when you flag your release as a cover during upload.
Licensing step
Original song
Cover song
Mechanical license
Not required
Required — handled by distributor or separately
Permission from rights holder
Not applicable
Not required (compulsory license)
Additional cost at distribution
None
Included in distributor fee (Globex Music) or separate
Sync license (for music video)
You grant it to others
Required from publisher — not compulsory, can be refused
Metadata: What’s Different When Uploading
Metadata for cover songs has additional required fields that don’t exist for original releases — and getting them wrong causes royalty misrouting, takedowns, and platform rejection.
Metadata field
Original song
Cover song
Track title
Your chosen title
Must match original title exactly — no suffixes
Songwriter credit
Your name
Original songwriter’s name — not the original artist if different
Publisher
Your publisher or self-published
Original publisher — distributor researches this
«Cover song» flag
Not applicable
Must be checked — triggers licensing workflow
ISRC code
New code for your recording
New code for your recording (different from original)
Artist name in title
Optional stylistic choice
Never add original artist name to your title
The most common metadata mistake with cover songs: crediting the original performing artist as the songwriter. These are frequently different people. Jimi Hendrix didn’t write «All Along the Watchtower» (Bob Dylan did). Whitney Houston didn’t write «I Will Always Love You» (Dolly Parton did). Your distributor needs the composer’s name, not the performer’s, to route mechanical royalties correctly.
Royalties: How the Money Flows Differently
This is where the structural difference between cover and original distribution has the most direct financial impact.
Original song royalties
When your original song is streamed, the royalty pool from the platform is split between:
Master recording royalties — paid to you as performer and master owner. Goes through your distributor.
Publishing royalties — paid to you as songwriter/composer. Collected by your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, etc.) and publisher.
As the songwriter and performer, you’re on both sides of the royalty split. If you’re also your own publisher, you collect both shares.
Cover song royalties
When your cover is streamed, the royalty pool splits between:
Master recording royalties — paid to you as the performer. Goes through your distributor. You keep 100% of this with Globex Music.
Mechanical royalties — paid to the original songwriter and publisher. Your distributor routes this automatically from the licensing fees built into your distribution cost.
You do not collect publishing royalties from a cover — those belong to the original composer. This means covers earn slightly less per stream than originals in absolute terms, because the composition royalty goes to a different party. However, the master royalty you receive as the performer is the same rate regardless of whether the track is a cover or an original.
In practical terms: a cover that gets 10,000 streams pays you master royalties at the same per-stream rate as an original with 10,000 streams. The difference is that the original also pays you publishing royalties; the cover pays those to the composer instead.
Discoverability: Where Covers Have a Structural Advantage
This is the most underappreciated difference — and it works in favor of cover songs.
Original songs
Discoverability starts from zero. Listeners have no reason to search for an original song they’ve never heard. Getting streams requires building an audience through marketing, playlist pitching, social media, and algorithmic luck. This is a slow process that typically takes months or years to gain meaningful traction.
Cover songs
Discoverability is inherited from the original. When listeners search for the original song title on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music, your version appears in the results immediately. You’re visible to everyone searching for that song — without spending a single dollar on promotion.
Additionally, streaming algorithms associate your cover with the original song’s genre, mood, and audience profile. Spotify Radio, Discover Weekly, and similar algorithmic features can surface your cover to listeners of the original artist — passive discovery that would take an original song months of streaming history to achieve.
Discoverability factor
Original song
Cover song
Search traffic on day 1
Zero (no one searches for an unknown song)
Immediate (appears in original song searches)
Algorithmic association
Built over time from listener behavior
Inherited from original song’s audience
Editorial playlist eligibility
Yes — any playlist
Yes — including cover-specific playlists
Social media virality potential
Depends entirely on promotion
Familiarity lowers barrier to sharing
TikTok/Reels discovery
Requires original trend creation
Can ride existing trends around the original
Sound-Alike Covers: A Critical Warning
Both Apple Music and Spotify explicitly prohibit «sound-alike» covers — versions that are produced to sound nearly identical to the original recording, designed to deceive listeners into thinking they’re hearing the original.
Platforms treat sound-alike covers as deceptive content and will hide or remove them automatically — often without warning or refund. Major distributors including TuneCore and CD Baby explicitly warn that sound-alike releases will be hidden by stores with no possibility of reinstatement.
Your cover must be a genuine artistic interpretation — your own arrangement, your own production choices, your own performance character. A cover that exists purely to capture listeners who misidentify it as the original is both legally risky and strategically counterproductive.
Strategy: When to Release a Cover vs an Original
The right question isn’t «should I release covers or originals?» — it’s «what does each type of release do for my career at this stage?»
Release a cover when:
You’re building initial discoverability and have little organic search presence
You want to reach a new audience with a clear artistic statement about your style
You’re between original releases and want to maintain streaming momentum
You have a genuinely distinctive interpretation that adds something new to the original
You want to test a new genre direction without fully committing to an original in that style
Release an original when:
You’re building a catalog that represents your own artistic identity
You have an existing audience to release to
You want full publishing royalties and long-term catalog ownership
You’re pitching for sync licensing opportunities (original compositions command much higher sync fees)
You want to be known as a songwriter, not just a performer
The most effective strategy for independent artists combines both: covers drive discovery and attract new listeners, while originals build the catalog those listeners explore after finding you through a cover.
Side-by-Side Summary
Original song
Cover song
Licensing required
None
Mechanical license
Rights holder permission
Not applicable
Not required (compulsory)
Additional distribution cost
None
Included at Globex Music ($1/single)
Composition ownership
You
Original songwriter
Master recording ownership
You
You
Master royalties
100% to you
100% to you
Publishing royalties
To you (via PRO)
To original songwriter
Day-1 discoverability
Near zero
High (inherited search traffic)
Metadata complexity
Standard
Additional fields required
Music video licensing
You own sync rights
Sync license required — publisher can refuse
Long-term catalog value
Full — you own composition
Partial — you own master only
Frequently Asked Questions
Do cover songs earn less money than originals?
Per stream, cover songs earn master recording royalties at the same rate as originals. The difference is that original songs also earn you publishing royalties (because you wrote the composition), while cover songs pay those royalties to the original songwriter instead. If your cover reaches significantly more listeners than your original would have — due to inherited search traffic and algorithmic association — it can easily outperform an original in total earnings despite the missing publishing share.
Can I register a cover song with my PRO?
No — not as the composer. You can only register compositions with a PRO if you’re a credited writer of the underlying composition. A cover song uses someone else’s composition, so you cannot register it for publishing. You can — and should — register with your PRO as a performer to collect neighboring rights royalties, but this is separate from publishing registration.
Is it harder to get a cover song on playlists than an original?
Not necessarily. Editorial playlists on Spotify and Apple Music accept cover songs alongside originals. Some curators specifically seek out covers for genre-themed playlists, acoustic collections, or mood-based compilations. Algorithmic playlists (Discover Weekly, Radio) may actually favor covers more in the early stages because the algorithm already has audience data to work with, rather than starting from scratch with an unknown original.
What happens to a cover song if I switch distributors?
When you switch distributors, you need to re-deliver your catalog — including covers — through the new service. Check whether your new distributor handles mechanical licensing for cover songs automatically or requires you to transfer existing license documentation. Mechanical licenses are tied to specific distribution arrangements, so a distributor change may require re-licensing the cover.
Can I release a cover song and an original on the same EP?
Yes. Many artists release EPs that mix original songs with cover versions. Your distributor will flag the cover tracks individually during the upload process, handling mechanical licensing for the covered compositions while your originals distribute without additional licensing requirements. Each track is treated independently in terms of rights and royalty routing.
Does distributing a cover song affect my original music’s algorithm?
Positively, in most cases. More releases on your artist profile signal to streaming algorithms that you’re an active artist. Listeners who discover you through a cover and follow your profile then receive recommendations for your originals through Release Radar and artist radio. The cover acts as an entry point into your full catalog — it doesn’t compete with your originals, it feeds them.
Whether you’re releasing an original or a cover, Globex Music distributes to 150+ platforms worldwide from $1 per single — with mechanical licensing handled automatically for every cover song upload. No annual fee, 100% of your master royalties.
