A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
Canadian artist Ali Hugo is still basking in the glory of "The Home Boy" album's popularity. A celebration of the music Hugo listened to while growing up in Canada. Hugo is following up that triumph with an album of cover songs on which he has remixed the tunes.
A major record label might encourage one of its signed artists to release a cover song album as a follow-up to a well-received tribute album. Salutations to radio stations and legendary musicians whose music has brought you such delight are one thing, but releasing a follow-up cover album as an expected Follow, Likes, Views, Streams & Comments booster on social media platforms is quite another. Commentators on the music industry might ask this question. Is Hugo selling out?
Hugo replies, "Not really," The fact that I work in the music industry and have worked so hard to create wonderful music makes it only natural that I would want the widest possible audience to hear it. It's one thing to have skills and create excellent songs, but quite another to archive your assets beneath your bed. When you have to make your own business decisions and realize that major labels are only there to assist you, putting butter on your bread, then following the trend of criticizing major labels doesn't seem feasible. Furthermore, How feasible is the idea of artistic independence? Hugo inquires.
Hugo says, "I mean I'm affiliated with Virgin/UMG Records through my distributor Intercept/INgrooves and with a high number of releases being uploaded to streaming platforms each day, using major label strategies to Ali Hugo releases helps me rise above the noise and also helps make it easy to get positive nods from my affiliation with a Major label like Virgin Records."
Hugo showed that the new album "I Gotcha Covered" is not just a follower of a major label strategy trend, My team used the exact same process as for my prior albums, which began with market research. The findings indicated that there is a large demand for this type of music album. The increase in the amount of cover songs being uploaded on social & music platforms every day is a reality of the times we're living in, particularly with the emergence of trending cover songs on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reals.
Hugo continues by describing how the circumstances surrounding the release of albums like "I Gotcha Covered" have evolved. I don't think I would be interested in doing a cover songs album, if I had to involve my attorneys in order to obtain licensing agreements and deal with the hassle of releasing a cover album like in the past decades. Making an album of cover songs is less onerous today thanks to the ability to retain mechanical rights and the simplification of the procedure made possible by distributors and agencies like Harry fox.
Hugo has chosen catchy tracks to be included on the new album, including renditions of Belinda Carlisle, Bryan Adams, and Lionel Richie songs, to mention a few.
Hugo claims that the difficulty in producing an album like "I Gotcha Covered" is remaining faithful to the lyricist's intentions while avoiding alienating fans of the songs' original versions. Hugo rejects the idea that musicians should take care their recordings of cover songs don't overshadow their original work. Whether it's an original song or a cover, I always give any song I select to record my all. Patti Labelle's cover of "Over The Rainbow" is a fantastic illustration of how many artists have adopted covered songs and made them a significant part of their careers.
The first single “Love Never Dies” from Hugo’s new album “I Gotcha Covered" is available for streaming and download everywhere.
