# Build your audience by making cover songs (Impact Soundworks Academy)



## Andrew Aversa (May 2, 2020)

We've launched a new free video series on the *Impact Soundworks YouTube channel* called ISW Academy. We'll be delivering lessons and tutorials on a wide range of music production, composition, and business topics, created by professionals and experts. We want to give you *immediate*, *practical*, and *actionable *knowledge you can use to improve your music, your workflow, and your career.

The first two videos - Music Business 100 and 101 - focus on the basic principles that will help new artists build their fan base, gain momentum, and gain (or increase) revenue across a bunch of different channels.

To be clear, these two episodes are _not _about _freelance composing _(or mixing, production, etc.) They are meant to be more universal for artists in any style or genre, that write & produce music independent of film/video/games. Of course, those topics we'll get to later!

Even if you've been in the business for awhile, you might still find some interesting ideas and action items here, such as how to collect digital public performance royalties, sell to fans directly via Bandcamp & Gumroad, and allow your biggest fans to support you directly via Patreon.

With that in mind, please watch, enjoy, and let us know what you think!


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## Kyle Preston (May 2, 2020)

Thanks so much for making and sharing these @zircon_st, I have no doubt this will be an excellent series. To anyone just starting out, I would take what Andrew says to heart, he knows what he's doing and is incredibly helpful. 

Cheers man, hope you and your family are safe and well!


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## Andrew Aversa (May 14, 2020)

Today's episode is all about cover songs, and how they can be a valuable tool for building your audience. By creating inspired versions of existing songs, you can tap into existing fanbases and draw them into your orbit. 

More importantly, it's easier than ever to do this legally. In today's episode we'll be talking about both the 'why' and 'how' for cover songs & licensing!


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## Consona (May 14, 2020)

This is rather interesting.

Just the other day, I was thinking how is it legal, making fan art then letting other people support you via patreon. Like those people making Warhammer videos, which is something completely based on Games Workshop's intellectual property. Or like a guy on Youtube making Warhammer music and whatnot, selling those pieces on his website!, having a patreon, yet when I was searching for any endorsement from Games Workshop on his web or YT, I've found none. (And those fan created videos even explicitly say they are 100% unofficial.)

So I went to the Games Workshop website, where they actually have a section about this, where they say things like these are, unsurprisingly, forbidden.

So I totally don't get how this stuff works.
I see ok making some fan art without any money being involved. To me even a patreon feels like breaking the obvious rule of, it's just nor your IP, you should not make any money out of it.

It's so weird. Like some girls make money through cosplaying. It's like accepted or something... Yet I can't imagine Warner Bros or Disney being ok with someone creating Batman or Star Wars fan music and making money out of it...

Like those guys making fan Star Trek episodes or even just websites, being told to drop those under the thread of a lawsuit.


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## Andrew Aversa (May 14, 2020)

Fan art is a different ballgame, same with other kinds of fan creations. Music is a special case because of that _specific provision _about compulsory mechanical licenses (CML) that has existed in our law for quite awhile now. It's a beautiful part of the law that is also quite the anomaly, as most intellectual property law gives the creator near-absolute rights and control over their work.


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## Consona (May 15, 2020)

zircon_st said:


> Fan art is a different ballgame


What's the difference between fan art music and cover/arrangement/remix?


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## Andrew Aversa (May 15, 2020)

The "Compulsory Mechanical License" part of US law. That's the thing that legally allows you to create certain kinds of covers & arrangements without permission, as long as you pay royalties.

Nothing like that exists for art, as far as I know.


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