Original gigs or cover gigs?

For a young artist looking into how to sell music and concert tickets, it’s an interesting question. It’s also not black and white, but there are definite advantages and disadvantages.

You Can’t Judge A Booking By Its Cover!

Just so we’re clear, a “cover gig” is one where most or all of the material you play was written by someone else.

Cover gigs are ultimately more plentiful in many places, especially since they can include a variety of social events such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Being a professional wedding singer is a potential career path here; good ones are always in demand.

There’s also the carnival/festival/wrestling circuit. Traveling shows often like having a cover band warming up the crowd.

If you just want to play music for people, this can be a fine path to take. The money is good enough to live on, for the talented. It’s also a good way to pick up money part-time, while honing your trade.

On Being Original

That said, there are of course significant advantages to sticking mostly to original gigs.  For one thing, it’s far easier to gain mainstream acceptance.  It’s exceedingly rare for a cover band to find widespread success without totally reinventing themselves in the process.

Likewise, original gigs are more often in better venues, and in better climates.  If you’re a wedding singer, you’re doing the wedding whether it’s rain or shine.

Finally, let’s face it: playing your own tunes is also more fun.  You can learn a lot from playing songs written by past masters, but it’s often difficult to find musical fulfillment in playing sets of other peoples’ music night after night.

How To Sell Music: Get To Cover?

Covering is a fine way to get experience, earn extra money, and study the greats while you’re training, but it’s easy to get pidgeon-holed as “just a cover band.” If permanently being a wedding singer isn’t for you, be prepared to bail out and reinvent yourself if you want to go mainstream.