iTunes Cracking Down on Cover Songs
As a way to ensure that its clientele downloads exactly what’s desired, iTunes is cracking down on those 
who upload cover songs that appear, or sound, too close to the original.
According to a report from Digital Music News, iTunes’ latest style guide states that, for cover songs, the company will no longer accept submissions that feature any song title or artist name with the original artist name listed. For example, a song called “Rock the Casbah (Originally performed by The Clash),” would not be allowed. Nor, would ‘The Clash Tribute Band’ be permitted in the artist category.
What would be accepted, however, is using the artist’s name in the album title category. But, the artist’s name cannot be the first word(s) used. This means that ‘A Tribute to The Clash’ would be acceptable in this instance, but not ‘The Clash Tribute.’
With regards to track titles, iTunes says “Do not use phrases such as ‘Originally Performed By,’ ‘In the Style of,’ ‘Tribute to, or ‘Cover of.’”
Digital Music News also says that lyrics of a popular song shall not be used as entries in the artist name, album title, or track title categories.
What’s more, if the song uploaded sounds eerily close to the original, iTunes won’t give it the time of day.
As for karaoke tracks, those are buried deep in iTunes. If a person desires a certain track, they can search for it, along with the word ‘karaoke,’ to find it.
-Adam Grant
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