How to Distribute a Cover Song Alongside an Original B-Side Track

A single that pairs a cover song with an original B-side is treated by distributors and streaming platforms as one release containing two tracks, each with its own licensing status: the cover requires mechanical licensing coverage, while the original does not. Getting this right mostly comes down to metadata accuracy and understanding that the two tracks are reviewed under different rules even though they ship together.

This format is common among cover artists who want to prove songwriting range, and it’s also a low-risk way to test original material against a built-in audience that found you through a familiar song. Here’s how the mechanics actually work.

Can you release a cover song and an original track on the same single?

Yes. Nearly every major distributor, including Globex Music, allows a single release to contain multiple tracks, and there’s no rule against mixing a licensed cover with a wholly original composition on the same release. The two tracks simply carry different metadata: the cover needs the original songwriter and publisher credited along with mechanical license coverage, while the B-side lists you (or your collaborators) as the sole writer with no license requirement attached.

Platforms don’t reject a release just because it contains mixed content types. What they check is whether each individual track’s metadata and licensing status is internally consistent — a cover credited with no license, or an original track that suspiciously matches a copyrighted work, are the actual red flags.

How does moderation differ between the two tracks?

The cover song goes through mechanical licensing verification — confirming the songwriter, publisher, and territory eligibility — while the original B-side is checked mainly for basic metadata accuracy and content policy compliance. In practice this means the cover is the track most likely to cause a delay, since it depends on correctly identifying the composition’s rights holder, while the original is usually a faster pass.

With Globex Music, mechanical licensing for the cover is handled automatically as part of the release process, and moderation review is typically fast enough that a two-track single doesn’t take meaningfully longer to clear than a single-track release. The bottleneck, when there is one, almost always comes from incomplete or mismatched songwriter information on the cover side — not the original.

Should the cover or the original be the lead track?

This is a strategic choice, not a technical one, since licensing and moderation apply the same way regardless of track order. Most artists lead with the cover because it’s the recognizable hook that drives initial discovery — people search for the song title they know, land on your version, and the original B-side becomes a bonus they discover after the fact.

That said, if you’re deliberately using the release to launch original material, putting the original first signals to playlisters and algorithmic curators that this is a songwriter release, not a covers project, which can affect what kind of playlist placements you’re considered for. There’s no wrong answer, but it’s worth deciding intentionally rather than defaulting to track order by accident.

Do you need separate ISRC and metadata entries for each track?

Yes. Each track on the release needs its own ISRC code and its own complete metadata, including separate songwriter and publisher fields, even though both tracks share one UPC as a single release. This is standard practice for any multi-track release and isn’t specific to cover-plus-original pairings, but it’s worth double-checking because it’s easy to accidentally copy metadata from one track to the other when filling out a distributor’s upload form quickly.

Get this wrong and you risk two problems: royalties from the cover getting misattributed if the original songwriter’s name bleeds into that track’s credit, or the platform flagging the original as unlicensed content because it inherited the cover’s licensing flag. Filling out each track’s metadata independently, even when it feels redundant, avoids both issues.

What does this cost compared to releasing the tracks separately?

Bundling a cover and an original B-side into one release costs the same as any standard single. At Globex Music that’s $1 per release regardless of how many tracks are included, compared to releasing them as two separate singles, which would mean paying twice and managing two sets of moderation timelines instead of one.

Against annual-fee competitors the gap is more pronounced. DistroKid charges $44.99 a year regardless of how many releases you put out, TuneCore charges a $24.99 base fee per release tier plus per-cover licensing fees and a 20% commission specifically on social platform monetization, and CD Baby charges $9.95 per single plus a 9% royalty commission that applies indefinitely. A cover-and-B-side single through Globex costs $1 one time, with no recurring fee attached to keep that release live in your catalog.

How do royalties get split between the two tracks?

Each track earns royalties independently based on its own streams, and each is paid out through the same account once your balance crosses the $10 payout threshold. The cover’s royalties route partly through mechanical licensing obligations tied to the original songwriter, while the B-side’s royalties belong entirely to you and your collaborators as the sole rights holders — but both accumulate toward the same $10 minimum, so a two-track single can actually help you reach payout faster than a single-track release would on its own.

A practical example

Say you release a cover of a moderately popular song as the lead track and an original ballad as the B-side. The cover picks up early streams from listeners searching the original title, generating a small but steady royalty stream. The B-side accumulates slower, more organic plays from people who finish the cover and keep listening. Combined, the two tracks might cross the $10 payout threshold a few weeks sooner than the cover would have alone — and you’ve also banked an original composition in your catalog that you fully own, with no licensing dependency and no expiration on its distribution.

Key takeaway

Pairing a cover with an original B-side is one of the more efficient ways to use a single release: it costs no more than a cover-only single, doesn’t slow down moderation in any meaningful way, and gives you a foothold in original songwriting without abandoning the discoverability a well-known cover provides. The only real requirement is keeping each track’s metadata cleanly separated so licensing status and songwriter credit don’t get crossed between them.