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What's Up With Cover Tunes Clogging Concerts?
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I recently went to see John Mayer, but he only played five or six of his own songs and then started playing his favorite artist's songs. Why? Do royalties have to be paid for that? And who decides such playlists? Thanks.
—Mrs JK, Queens, NY, via Facebook
It's all up to Mayer whether he wants to confirm or deny that your body is a wonderland—versus launching into, say, a Tom Petty cover, which he also has been known to do. I understand that Mayer has played "Free Fallin' " in concert, just as the Jonas Brothers like to cover Shania Twain, while Blink-182 prefers "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera. And Taylor Swift likes to honor everybody from Rihanna to Eminem. (Yes, really. She has done "Lose Yourself" live.) Whatever the lineup, it's the star's choice.
Royalties are usually the responsibility of the venue hosting the event, but as for why singers do covers in the first place, I turn now to a member of the respected band Tonic...
...Which is currently back in full force, ending each show with a cover of "You Can Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac.
"The decision for us to cover that song was based on the feeling we get whenever we hear it," bassist Dan Lavery tells me. "Everybody has a feeling they get when they hear a certain song that really touches them in a way, and we hope it translates to the audience."
"When you cover a song, you are actually saying a lot about yourself or your band," Lavery continues. "Someone in my band suggested a cover that I laughed at because it would be saying that I liked that song, and I don't. I said he ought to do it solo acoustic without us."
So do artists tell each other when they're covering each others' tunes? Not really. Think about it.
"If everyone who is playing one of their songs called them, they would be on the phone all day for the rest of their lives," Lavery points out.
Speaking of being on the phone all day, I'm always working on answering another one of your reader questions! Got one for me? Twitter it to @answerbitch.
—Additional reporting by Lindsay Ambrose
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