[11-11-97 Tues] As earlier reported, a new New Jersey record company called "Under the Covers" has been hiring their own small bands to do cover songs for certain bands who have recently made hit singles. The thing is, the original bands are not selling a single of their hit, in an attempt to get people to buy the whole album. But Under the Covers is undoing these plans and making covers of these hits, and releasing them under band names similar to the original bands. For example, Smash Mouth's cover was placed under the name "Smack." Sugar Ray's "Fly" cover was done under the band name "Sweet Rain."
The latest bands to be victims of Under the Covers are Chumbawamba, the Cardigans, and the Wallflowers. Their covers' band names are Chucklebutt, the Casual Sweaters, and the Waterfalls. Doing this has been taking money away from the real bands, and the record-buyers may think they are buying the real thing when they are not. As you can imagine, many people are not happy.
"I've got a serious problem with this blatant ripoff," Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell recently said about the cover of their hit, "Walkin' On the Sun." "Now, for these untalented people that have to rip off somebody else's music and release it just to make a quick buck, I think you should go back to your day job ... at McDonald's."
Although some people can tell apart the real music from the covers, some don't know, which lets the cover company make sales. An Under the Covers version of "Butterfly Kisses," including a club mix, has sold 20,000 copies, while the Waterfalls' "One Headlight" has so far sold 3,800 copies. When comared to the millions of records the real bands sell, those numbers don't do that much to sales for the originals such as Chumbwamba and the Wallflowers. But industry executives and the artists are still angry about it. "Sugar Ray is pissed off," says Atlantic Records talent spotter Jason Flom, who signed the hit Southern California band. "They've spent countless hours in the studio and on the road touring, trying to develop themselves as long-term artists." Record companies can do nothing to stop any of this because they these bands fall under the category of covers, which are legal.
"People act like we're raping the corpse of Mozart or something," says Adam Marano, who performs all the tracks for Under The Covers. "This is pop music! Just chill out and have a good time."
The Wallflowers, Chumbawamba - November 11, 1997
Back to Archives
Back to November 1997