I just wrote something about originality:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/02/the-year-of-new-traditions/

I think it is a nice counterpoint.

Thanks, Derek.

I am going to mirror you

Love it. Thanks. Smart people know enough to knwo wehat they don't know. Seems you are rather smart......

I have always said if you want to be a good musician, singer,player
copy the best. It's a rule I have stuck with as long as I have been playing and it has never let me down.No one has invented anything in music for a long time so feel free to copy the best.

Roger ... copy that ... over ;-)

You have some pretty awesome backup for your thoughts, Derek: namely, Ecclesiastes 1:9 which says "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Yes, go ahead and imitate, the result will be unique to you, and you may achieve something great!

Hell Yeah!
Steal like an artist
https://www.google.com/search?q=steal+like+an+artist&client=firefox-a&hs=Zm&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vPzuUpTSLYjTsAS_hYG4CA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg&biw=1280&bih=736&dpr=0.8

Advice that mirrors what nature does ... usually, good advice ...

Thx :-)

Great advice... works for painting too.

After years of my grandmother trying to help me succeed (I am 44), I finally listened to her. Once she knew she had my attention, she told me, "Look at what successful people are doing and copy it." Previously I would have disagreed for the same reason you did, but now I get it, for the exact reasons you stated. When I do it, it will come out like me! Of course, what wouldn't work for me, I wouldn't do, or I would fail at, so it all works out.

Great article, as always Derek. I think it's easy for us to think we have to be the first ones to try something when it fact we are most definitely doing an inservice to those we serve if we don't follow suit when we see a great idea. Kudos to you for pointing this out. Great reminder!

Great reminder. Reciprocal mirrors, as well. In others, we see ourselves. In us, others see themselves! Bring it on home and celebrate in creativity! Thanks, Derek!

We were taught something along those lines at Whitireia Music School and I think that made it easier for me to get over the whole 'imitation' buzz. And I really value the fact that, based on one person's uniqueness, the potential for MORE awesomeness would just keep on giving ❤

Absolutely agree! Bono once said: 'Every Poet is a thief!' I think he included himself in that statement. It's human to mimic ... it's talent to evolve something a little higher or better! Right?

Right on. A perfect ego-busting exercise. My business teacher Bruce Waldack's euphemism for it was "creatively borrow" :)
“Ego-busting exercise” ← I like that! Thank you. — Derek

Derek,
I have to agree with you. The only problem I'm having is getting my covers out there. I listen to them and think they sound ok, but not really close enough to sound great. After reading this article I think I will throw caution to the wind and finally put them out there.

feeling uneasy about 'borrowing' a chord structure and got told 'good artists borrow - great artists steal.' .... cheered me up no end :)

I like your analogy. The surface of it is direct and easy to practically use right away.

Mirrors also have a line if sight that can drastically change with the slightest turn. Makes me wonder where my decisions will take me along the road and how one adjustment to my life can change its course.

One thing I'd like to hear your thoughts on is "gut instincts."
And maybe a new way to look at that. Maybe you already wrote something....?
Thanks.

While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (I guess someone had to say that) it does make for a wonderful starting point for innovation and progress.

Yeah...i like to play the game of who the Beatles were copying with every song they did: Please Please Me-Roy Orbison, Norwegian Wood-Bob Dylan, Lady Madonna-Fats Domino, etc...

Ah! See. Great example. Now re-playing those songs in my head, I can hear the resemblance. But never noticed until you pointed it out now. — Derek

This is a really good article. As a budding graphic designer im always hesitant to imitate because I worry about not being authentic. Thanks for the good read!

I love how we carry a bit of everyone inside of us, exploring the " Namaste" factor to infinity and beyond….. We we get the lesson, it is done. No matter how long it takes. Thank you for these uplifting insights…. Sharing….

Hi Derek;

Interesting. To imitate what someone else has done, one first has to learn it, i.e., to be able to imitate it. This implies that a massive amount of learning takes place via imitation, which wouldn't take place otherwise.

Also, if no one imitated, who would show others how to follow (where'd I see an article about that).

Heck, one idea at a time though; there's plenty of space elsewhere to talk about not imitating, but doing just the opposite, too. :-)

Perhaps there's a common denominator here somewhere ... perhaps the truth is there's a time to be unique, a time to imitate, a time to follow, a time to do the opposite ... and a time to talk about all of the above.

Thx ... for doing all of the above, Derek

All the best - Cam

thanks for the swiper. they're gone now--as you, undoubtedly, know--but it was fun having one.

That was just what I needed as I was beginning to worry that the project I am working on would not be sufficiently different from other things. I'm so over that!

From a 'feel' perspective like acting, covering a song opens me to relating. Being part of human expression gives way to allowing empathy to not become extinct..I used to dismiss any song I created if it was like something else.

Yes, that's right. Around the practice rooms of Berklee, we used to say "good musicians borrow, great ones steal." This quote was attributed to Duke Ellington, possibly erroneously. They're probably still saying that around those rooms at Berklee, copying those that came before them.

Derek - wonderfully stated. I used to resist this too, until I read the book Steal Like an Artist. Thanks for sharing your perspective - I love reading your posts!
Bob

The swipers WERE a great idea - and it's a shame they've been discontinued. Every artist wants to be a direct-to-fan retailer and now the CD Baby option has gone. 'Know it's not your fault Derek... just sayin'. BTW: That decision's now forced me to look elsewhere and, for a minor investment, I now find I can replicate the c/card swiping option digitally through my lap-top with an electronic version (via PayPal). Every hurdle is a potential learning experience.
I honestly didn't know they were gone until you mentioned it now. I guess companies like Square are more optimized for that. So much better than the old carbon slips. — Derek

This is a really timely post, I think that I have been suffering from the "not invented here" mentality, which has been a stumbling block in my business. I think it can go a little too far though, there is a little too much 'cookie cutter' business modelling going on in the space I'm looking at. I guess with that I can still copy, since it wouldn't take much of a shift to set myself apart.
As always Mr Sivers, thank you :-)

You are a head of most of us in the music business

I removed our bathroom mirror so whenever my mum suggested I go and comb my hair I could say: "Oh, I can't see myself doing that!" www.twitter.com/markpengilly

True words of wisdom. Thank you.

Having been a musical arranger for most of my professional life, it has given me great joy to cover some old chestnut that everyone has heard many times in supermarkets, elevators, weddings, radio, etc. and put my own fresh mark on it. What I experience is even greater freedom and challenge to copy something and make it mine.
Look at Bach's work after one of his students had been to Italy, bringing with them musical manuscripts while the old master absorbed the greatest Italian masterpieces of his day. His music rose to another level than before. I will depart with this great bit of exclamation from Seattle, GO SEAHAWKS!

I'd hope to have been imbued with a plentiful amount of inspirations and ideas over the years that shape my direction on a more subconscious level. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen so serendipitously. Something might just pop up that drives me to create and build on.

Inspiring, Mr. Derek.

When I began composing [ which I did not learn in college] I thought why not use Bach's music for templates. I have never really tried that but have used snippets of other songs written for inspiration and I found what you said to be absolutely true. My song never sounds anything like the ideas I thought I borrowed. Interesting!

I have been resisting doing cover songs my whole life because I thought it was unoriginal. I think that's the point. pomplamoose and all the other youtube cover bands have hit it big because of their covers. I need to do covers. thanks for the extra inspiration and affirmation that it is not only ok, relevant, and a good idea, but also helpful to my fans.
I recommend finding a popular song that hasn't been covered yet. So when people search that song title on iTunes Music Store, only two come up: the original and yours. — Derek

to live and take on life as a journey, one must explorer to discover and develop sense of self. we definitely need more encouragement in this regard, to see and make greater experiences for all- thank you derek!

I wrote a post in response to your recommendation to imitate formulas for success in business, art and life.

I've never considered the fact that imitations are warped and skewed by the person doing the imitating.

Great insight!

Here's the article I wrote in response:

http://www.danhodgins.com/imitation-fastest-way-to-increase-website-traffic
☺ Love it. Thank you! — Derek

I couldn't agree more Derek. When I was younger I tried in vain to copy the solos of Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy. In 'failing' to get the notes perfectly accurate I wound up creating my own licks to fill in the gaps. Who knew that I was in essence creating my own style.

I almost feel sorry for the kids today who can easily download the tab or digitally slow down the recording so as to perfectly capture every note and nuance. I believe the 'funhouse mirror' may not be as warped and therefore as fruitful as it once was.

Good one there amigo.

You can also save yourself some serious research $$ (thinking more non-musical applications here). I've read that Burger King has almost no budget for researching locations: they just set up near a McDonalds, who has.

Hope I haven't totally spoiled the "creativity" buzz here :)

Our band has been with CDBaby for a number of years. It was great to have a credit card swiper machine (still do!) and all the paper that went with it. Recently I received an offer from American Express for one of those swipers that goes along with your cell phone. Use it and pay a percentage. We're talking convenience for the customer. Love it! We're going to have to get one...but I need to make sure we're getting one that does not drain the wee bit we earn and save towards makeing more recordings. Our bank wanted to give us one for a monthly fee. No! We're not that big yet!

I grew up hearing "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." I suppose it also applies as a model for success! Thanks for your inspiring thoughts, Derek.

This is an especially useful technique for writing, I think. At one point in my life, I thought that I wanted to start writing. I was always a big fan of Stephen King. I read his book On Writing, of course. But I also started examining his paragraph and chapter structures. I would break apart a paragraph and then try to write something completely different with that same structure.

I agree, and I admire your admission that it took time. I have learned, in the world of business, (and also in life), that there are few really "new" ideas. I have taken the best that I can find, and then have adapted them to my situation. Result: Less risk, because we are launching from a proven perspective. New and improved is oftentimes not new, just improved.

Still mulling this over ... so, copy what's worth copying ... something we can't help but do uniquely, in any case ... meaning we must have drawn out a lesson there about the value of doing so ... to us, to others ... don't copy, it seems, in that case, at our (and everyone else's?) peril or loss ... or so the lesson seems to be.

When I would get upset that someone was copying me, my mother used to say, "Immitation is the highest form of flattery." A five-year-old music student came in one day, and on his 3-string DoSo Guitar, he had taken a chord pattern I taught him and written his own words: "Whatever you do, I'll do that too, wherever you go, I'll go there too." We finished the song together, "I want to be your copy cat, if only for a while, I just want to be your copy cat, 'cause I really, really like your style."
☺ — Derek

Thanks Derek.
I think we all connectedly influence one anothers originality.
Time to eat pizza...!
Rachel

As Dj Pierre once said, If I ever made something up is because I copied from somewhere else

And to illustrate what you just said
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPdVVOmbz4

Derek, you will never understand how perfect was the timing of this message in my inbox. Talk about creating up-spirit! Thank you SO much!

A corollary thought: You can be successful or creative or effective...if you simply participate in the discovery of an idea. You don't have to be the one who thought of it...but if you can be part of the conversation, that's just as valuable. "When you're around, good things happen" is a REALLY nice compliment!

Thanks again Derek!
-cg

Fear of copying and going to court can hinder creativity.

Brilliant! Thx Derek

Roses are blood, violets are shame, lillies are floating on ponds of pain.

Using known passage to discover other voicing is something I love. The above is just what I rambled after reading your email

I just think you're a pretty cool guy for sharing the inside scoop

If imitation is the sincerest form of compliment... does that mean "hipsters" are trying to be insultingly original?

Thanks, Derek!

Everything's been heard before - but not everyone was listening.

Great post Derek. I too have not been a fan of "imitating", or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I also seem to be experiencing a change of heart on this front, with each passing day. Still, as you pointed out, the individual human's ability to "interpret" will always render the copy a "somewhat-original".

Mediocre artists steal from one source. Great artists mimic from many sources.

Yes I think ignoring good stuff by others is a mistake, if you study art by others (look at paintings etc if you're an artist; listen to hits if you're a songwriter) you can learn from it and solidify your own creative concepts.
When I was learning to be a goldsmith I studied Japanese lacquer & Art Deco Jewelley, and recently as a songwriter I've been looking at songs I like & writing down Why I like them (killer bass riff; harmonies; lyrical structure etc). A good learning method, and you can then apply the learnt techniques to your own original works.

I don't concur with you on this one, Derek!

I strongly believe that "real" artist don't care about imitate.

If you have the blessing of be a creative being, you really don't need anything else.

But again, That is just for real artist and not for the 'wanna be' artist.

My definition of 'real' artist is somebody that never chose it but was chosen. Somebody that most of the times think that it's as a blessing as it is as a karma at the same time.

You can learn imitating, but then you are going to be rushed to your own creative path by some misterious need (pulsion).

And the only way to understand it, is living that experience.

But... I do concur with the 'imperfect mirror' theory. Whatever you do, it's going to be something different to what you was thinking in the begining ;-)

Art don't need to be 100% orginal but it need to be 100% personal and believable.

Great post, as always!!

I agree with Sivers point to a degree - Imitation is one of the greatest tools at our disposal, but more so to help create rather than being the subject of creation. If you want to make something truly great, you want to mirror the masters to help you learn. You want to take what they do, and distort it in your own way. Anyone can copy, but few are willing to try to scrutinize their work and expand upon it.

However, I disagree that we ought to rely on our individualism to be the differentiating factor and it's a mark on you and that which you admire when you copy outright. Trust me, you don't want to be the Samwer brothers.

There's a great comic by Stephen McCranie that explains this better and more beautifully than I can: http://doodlealley.com/2012/11/21/practice-does-not-make-perfect/

This TED talk Embrace the Remix talks about the same thing using examples from Bob Dylan and Steve Jobs.
http://www.ted.com/talks/kirby_ferguson_embrace_the_remix.html

Wow, so great to read this after getting home from a gig tonight. Yes, imitation is another important branch of creativity. Artists should definitely not let themselves get locked into "their sound" because sound is undefinable and a successful artistic career should allow for growth and new changes.. I got to visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam once. Did you know he had a fascination with Japanese art. Google it! His imitations are amazing and were just another influence whether his ""true"" art revealed it or not. I am inspired to reply with "my own warped perspective" on Weezer's Say It Ain't So. I think you'll dig it.

https://vimeo.com/85392528

P.S. Simpsons bump always classy

My only caveat here is credit the person you're copying. As the person on the receiving end of the idea you took, it is the least you can do.

It's funny that you used the Simpsons picture. This post reminds me of that South Park episode where they realize that every idea they come up with - The Simpsons already did it. There's nothing new under the sun, and if you think of a brilliant, original idea, it turns out The Simpsons already did it.

yeah..i'd like to hear more of your industry insights like
that- didn't fully grasp the creditcard thing :) but how
revenue breaks down, stuff like that, how it has changed
now..whether a muso really can make a living selling product.
standing request also :) for some music theory insghts please!

you don't have to be original: every high st has multiples
of each commerce, in competition. if you are borrowing
a copyrighted identifiable idea, acknowledge. if you are
modifying it, its yours. plagiarism is very popular with the
public!(just listen to robbie williams)

I was just reading about a similar issue or at least one that may be viewed in the same light. "The only reason we must one up each other is this notion that it's not OK to be ordinary". Raheemmills.com

As a dance instructor, of no particular note, I encouraged my students thusly: "We begin our journey by learning to mimic or copy those we admire. However our degree of talent for mimcry is colored and shaded by our physical abilities and our synapses, which are further shaded and colored by the things that happen physically to our bodies (injuries, stresses, perceptions of "how we look") As time takes it's inevitable toll, the "style" we devlop changes, matures and supposedly develops. The trick is to make each move, note, or idea particularly yours! " do it correctly , cleanly and "on the music, and mostly " make it look easy and it's yours to own!
I think the same holds true for most anything but what do I know? Dance is not life or death It's more important than that!
Fairly soon folks will be saying, "Aw man, that's a Sivers move!" Thanks for stimulating my remaining brain cell!
Ed.

Thanks for new article,

Audio-Rarities
Jan
Best Regards

I am agree and would add something. Even when we do not want we always imitate something already heard. Music can not be born out of nowhere. In fact composer always creates a new combination of sounds he has already heard.

Love this. One of my most-respected songs is one I wrote as a "soundalike" for somebody else's song, a very famous one by George Harrison. When I get compliments on it, I hang my head and sheepishly admit it was actually copped from the Beatles, but people tell me it doesn't sound anything like the original. In my mind it does, but in other people's, it's original and in fact one of my best. Does my having attempted to copy something pre-existing diminish the value of what I ended up with? Apparently not… Hmmm.
☺ good one. hi Jeff! — Derek

When I did stand up comedy ,
comedy writers and other stand ups imitated my jokes
Verbatim

As usual you made me change the way i think about something!

btw. love the fact that you're writing a lot more now and really like when i get one of your new blog post updates.

Hi Derek,
Not just a good tip, but also ecouragement !
Thanks,
Lale

Spot on Derek. I've been applying that to my Clarinet playing for years now and it certainly pays off.

When it comes to music, most of the great creators feed off each other. The trick is to disguise it. Have a listen to some of those early Beatles hits and then have a listen to the Everly Brothers especially the harmonies.

This is just as true for creative work for paying clients (and thus for a living), be it illustration, photography, design writing etc etc. You'll be asked 'be creative, give me something new' and when you do they'll say 'I don't get it!'. What they really want is your style/your take of a success. I regularly pitch for work and I always start with 'this is similar to X with a bit of Y - both have been very successful, so put them together and we'll have something great' - just look at Instagram. Everything you do will naturally have your own signature on it, don't let fear of imitation be another fear of failure.

Very true Derek ... things will change and develop as time moves on and the idea progresses. While it may have been similar to something else at the start it soon moves off in it's own direction. I'm seeing that myself at the minute with a project I started last Summer, it's morphing lol...all good though ... Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.

I teach photography to students and one of the exercises that I get them to do is 'copy a photo that they wish they had taken'. They love doing this. Needless to say, they always produce images which are far from original and speak closely about who they are.

As ever, on reflection your words are the genius,
Cheers Derek, t'is a joy that yer exist in this ol' world,
All the best to yer good self,
Brigs, and all us Super Punk Muffins :)

yes and no. if it looks simple, something's been overlooked. yes spending two weeks copying the idea of a credit card machine for musicians was a good idea. all payment gateways copy each other - a cashier at a supermarket, a hardware store or a cigarette counter is still a cashier. but copying other people songs (covers) - me say "no good". in the new economy, all income and respect to the source, you can't be the next steve jobs, bruce springsteen or martin luther king jr (although you can learn from them). be yourself. be excellent. do it now.

Showing us a door that is already open to us - thanks Derek.

Hello Derek,
It's always a pleasure to hear from you. It's true that imitation is the best form of flattery, and courage to admit you took someone else's idea. As a songwriter i'll admit that others songs have sparked new songs that i've written also. Thank you for sharing and spreading good will.

As usual, your point is simple, true and helpful! Thank you, Derek!

Your messages always seem to come at the perfect time for me. Thanks!

Billy Connolly famously said: "originality is just concealing your source"!

So what about the original song in the first place? Irvin Berlin wrote "Always" but he was not doing a cover of someone else's song and George Gershwin did not copy "Summertime" from another song, neither did Hoagie Carmichael when he wrote "Georgia on my mind". Besides if you do your own version of someone else's song, you can't escape the fees to the copyright owner or to the Performing rights Society. How much will that cost depending on how many Cd's or downloads you produce? In the good old days when Derek ran CD baby the policy was that an artist who did not sell his music on CD baby would not be kicked out; but now the way the system works is that they have an overstock policy. So if you don't sell your CDs, the company gives you a hard choice, have you dearly loved compositions recycled free of charge (that means destroyed) or pay the postage for their return. I had one of these notices from them and I opted to have my music returned at my cost. Well they returned several CDs but not long after they wanted one back because a customer had ordered one and they had none left because they had returned all of them under their overstock policy. So how did this work out. I paid the original cost for the submission,and the return postage to me not to have the CDs recycled and further postage after they found there was an order for an overstock item they had returned to me. This was not local postage charges but overseas postal costs. Now I won't do any more CD's only downloads. Not every artist wants to perform. Performing your music can be very profitable for the people who have a good crowd following, but they are limited to repeating their work and rarely get the opportunity to write new songs. A composer on the other hand wants to publish his music and the financial rewards are less opportunistic. The price for a submission at CD baby has gone up considerably for a single or several tracks. However their' one off payment is still more beneficial to an artist that the annual fees that some other online distributors demand. That is much more expensive because you have to pay an annual fee for every submission and if you miss payment, the distribution of your music to their partners will be withdrawn, not very nice. CD baby still is probably the best online musical distributor because now and again they offer discounts to Artists for their submission which does help. Talking about imitating your competitors, if other online companies start to follow CD baby and scrap annual subscriptions, it wont be advantageous for CD baby. Still CD baby offers the best value for money if you are an artist who wants a website, and if you subscribe to host baby for one of their website services, you can get three CD baby submissions a year free with the package. So if you had a choice between paying an annual subscription for your submissions to another company, and if you are going to part with that money, it would seriously be to your advantage to go with host baby, pay the annual fee and get the three submissions thrown in for the costs. Yes indeed music producing and publishing can be an expensive business. If you are doing it to make money and only for that reason, then you might as well do any kind of business that makes money; but if you love to create music and want to take your chances that the world may be interested in it, you have to pay for publishing which invariably amounts to on line distribution costs, but if you don't find any covers or sales, will you think of the expenditure and stop, muting your creative ability because no one is interested or will that creative urge still manifest itself against any commercial disadvantages? For a business like a online distribution company, the more items their artist sell, the better off their commercial prosperity, because there will be a percentage off sales. For an artist who loves to create music but unfortunately is unable to market it, the question is do you stop trying? The answer is no. In this world you can possibly have anything you desire, but you have to pay for it. Money is not everything, how you live your life from moment to moment is everything; and if you spend you life doing something you love to do, you are blessed.

Nice article Derek! I have longed believed modeling is one of the core principles of success and that everyone's individual execution on a theme has the potential for uniqueness and attracting its own audience. I learn much from observing your path and all you share, so keep on striving successfully so that I may have more to copy from! Gratefully, SC

Great text Derek, this reminds me a great quote by Jim Jarmush:

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.

Cheers
Pedro
“It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.” ← BRILLIANT! Love it. Thanks for that quote. — Derek

I call it "steal from the best". I don't literally mean stealing, of course, but we all learn from and incorporate what we love in the world around us. There's always someone who figured out how to do that thing you want to do really well. That's the jumping off point. Reinventing the wheel every day is a waste of time and has zero to do with authenticity or integrity. It seems (to me) to come from a mindset that we aren't all in it together and bouncing off of each other's brilliance is a form of theft. That just seems silly and wasteful.

Aptly stated Derek...There is only one Creator. All the rest of us imitate what He has done to the best of our ability.

Hi Derek -

I think you are right as rain here except for when imitating another businesses ruin your niche. I believe that one should turn down revenue generating opportunities to have a niche. But what you are saying here is spot on. I get it.

BTW, my daughter got into LaGuardia High School in NYC for vocals. I don't know if you recall, but I showed both my girls your video Why You Need To Fail and it has had lasting positive effects. Georgia is now writing and composing her own music and playing gigs around NYC. Next your in the big Apple, come see her. Dinner's on me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olVMDFSk06A

Peace and keep up the great work.
Fred

This really made me think. (Bravo!) It is interesting that we do tend to resist such behavior under the guise of individuality. After all, it is the primary way that we learned in or formative years, all the while growing into unique individuals.

Your last sentence says it all : "Get over that self-important resistance, and do the world a favor." But then. . . That seems to be the most difficult part to overcome in these, our victimhood, self-esteem times.

Derek, you are right about that. Nothing is 100 percent original. A person's whole life has been influenced by others, for good or bad. What some musicians and artists have done is to leave a lasting stamp or impression on us.
And also, when we pick up a tip or skill from someone else, it's always going to come out looking or sounding differently. The tip you "copied" from someone obviously made a huge positive difference. I will reflect on this much more often. Thanks for posting this, Derek!

Bill

Excellent nugget, Derek. The cover-song example resonated with me. I'm not a big fan of covers because of the be-original mantra I often chant in my head. However, there may examples of cover-songs that I actually like more than the original. Why, because I recognized the incredible talent and originality that it takes to infuse and build their signature and creativity on to an already firm foundation, if you will. In other words, there's no need to re-invent the wheel...just invent different ways of using it. Thanks again, Derek. Peace.

From a classical music perspective, this has gone on since (and even before) the Renaissance...where "la folia" was the tune most covered in consequent eras. It's still giving inspiration to composers, performers and artists in this 21st century.
peace

How true!

Yes--I got a square for my phone--and my live cd sales have doubled. It is a wonderful idea and not only do folks like it--but if I have trouble with swiping or my app at all--folks actually jump in and type in their own numbers and guide me through the process --love it :)

Interesting perspective. I never thought of it that way. Especially, what you said about cover songs. I thought of Johnny Cash and his cover songs. He made the songs his own, due to his unique style. As an independent musician myself, I find that I have my own take on songs that I write and cover that really makes them my own as well. But I never really thought about it that much.

I also have always felt that everything I do needs to be original. But I guess that copying a good idea or plan is the better way to go.

I guess it's kinda like listening to older folks and taking their advice. They've been there, they've done that, and they know.

Anyway, nice thought-provoking article. Keep it up. I hope you are doing well. Have a great day!

Recently someone once described the first Beatles' LP as an Everly Brothers tribute album. Rarely does anything come out of a void.

I too believed that in trying to
write a new song that everything
one writes has to be totally
original.Probably almost everything
has been said before, but with
different words.Thank you for this
article.It has encouraged me not
to give up on trying to write a new
song.

This post reminds me of my music conductor in high school who used to tell us that
nothing is original. Every riff, chorus and verse is inspired and based on someone else's work.

I had a Weezer cover band in college and just from that alone my chops got so much better.

Imitation can lead to innovation.

I'm a student of Success literature; find that different "guru's"....over time....change the words....though the ROOT message is the same......and this allows different groups of audiences, to learn about, and possibly adopt as their own, a TRUTH... Success Principles that survive the ages.

Example:
Stephen Covey: Begin with the END in mind.
Tony Robbins (and many others): Visualize where you will be in "X" years; what kind of car you will drive; where you will live; what will it look like; the more details the better; CLARITY is power.

If you don't know where you're going...any road will get you there.

Derek> are there only SO MANY TRUTHS?

I love this post. I'm a guitar fingerpicker and do a lot of arrangements of other tunes and put my own fingerpicking twist on them. I think I bring something new to the song. It is "transformative." My arrangement. I wish a few years back You Tube could have seen things this way. They deleted my account and I had over 3,000 subscribers. It devastated me and I never really got over it. Had to start all over. Yeah, the originals were recognizable, but the "reflections" were so different. They were "transformative" and brought something new to the listener, a different reflection and played in my own home and not for profit. Now if I would have been taking the original artists recording and posting it, as so many You Tube users did and still do, then that is wrong and I can see that is the original recording slapped on someone's youtube channel. So now, I usually play my arrangement and then break it down as a fingerpicking lesson, an instruction video to be safe and please the "You tube gods."

Your post has given me a boost. I will apply this in many areas of my writing, and performance and business. But I do wonder why some don't even want their original works reflected in a mirror.

Thank you, Derek, yes, it has been my cover tunes that've gotten the most airplay but encouraged listeners to check out my originals. It's all good, take care!

True. So many musicians say, "I don't want to sound like anybody else." I tell them the first step is to stop tuning their guitars to EADGBE. ;)

I agree and disagree. Example. If the cover is obscure enough and nobody every "OWNED IT". Then I say grab it by the Love handles and shake it. Many of the Beatles first albums were filled with old R&B Covers like "Twist and shout". Elvis covered "Hound Dog". They became signature songs although they never wrote it. I mean, who remembers that Carl Perkins wrote Blue Suede shoes?

On the other hand, I've seen Todd Rundgren cover "Strawberry Fields". Todd whom I don't think anyone can help but have respect for; should have passed on it. I think, as you said, you're going to put your own stamp on it. Todd is so good a producer/Musician, it sounds too much like the Beatles and therefore I ask why not just listen to the real thing? I say JUST HAVE FUN in what ever you record.

Sometimes all we need to succeed is encouragement and permission. Thanks for sharing and showing the path, Derek.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts,

Bobby

This is exactly an issue of mine. I always wanted to provide my original thoughts without being compared to another musician or composer. I have found that this was an issue that I had to get over and just create music without worrying about this aspect. I have found that this provided me with more creativity than I thought it would and I believe that is due to just letting it happen without worrying about the similarities that may occur. Thanks Derek for this insightful message.

Yeah Derek

I've chewed on this subject. Here is my take

Creation (art) in this 3D physical universe consists of taking existing particles and rearranging them into patterns and constructions which are pleasing to me and hopefully (but not necessarily) pleasing to others.

Is there a creation beyond this like making something (universes, planets, galaxies) out of "nothing"?

Huh? this can get spinny!

Love, B

All your ideas are brilliant and life changing thank you soooo much for so generously sharing them
Michele

Start with a Dylan tune. Lots of people are going to like it better than his version.
☺ Or Tom Waits — Derek

Boom! Thx.

Agreed. Copying, especially in the beginning, is a way to find out who we are. After that, once we get a good handle on whatever skill we're trying to master - business, art, or otherwise - is when we start to naturally "riff" on these ideas. That's where our real identity, personality, and originality come out.

But if something is working for someone else, then hell, yeah! Why reinvent the wheel?

Could not agree more. some of best songs were written trying to emulate another song or artist and came out completely different. Well articulated once again. Thanks Derek.

Loved it - resonated and am inspired. Thanks for writing and sharing it with a positive voice.

I really love reading your content Derek, you genuinely tell it how it is and I respect you for that ...but I have to say your site seriously needs a facelift! Your content deserve so much more!! I'm just about to publish my first book "How to create a professional, profitable website in just 3 days" please let me give you a copy lol and if you really just don't want to do it yourself, I'd have no problem rebuilding it for you, for free, as my gift back to you. No catch. The offer's there if you want to take me up on it...Respectfully - Neil

Awesome insight, as usual, Derek!

I think while most people are spending precious time and trying hard to innovate, they are mostly missing the opportunity to make everyday things better.

100 years ago I was an art major studying at Immaculate Heart College under
Sister Mary Corita, (she makes an interesting google search adventure),
who would NEVER let us do anything original. She continually taught us to always
'work from something'. Her lessons on 'working from' were genius and I use them,
(quite successfully), to this day.

I'm going to mirror Johnny mirroring you

I was just thinking about this! Been listening to lectures from the Great Courses by the Teaching Company. Virgil based The Aenid on Homer's Iliand and the Odyssey and Dante based the Divine Comedy on Virgil's Aenid and countless writers based works on The Divine Comedy...

Lookie what I just got in my email this morning:
http://blog.ted.com/2014/02/03/the-big-mistake-we-all-make-about-ideas/
similar idea
Wow! Great one! Thanks for posting this link here. Good follow-up. — Derek

Totally agree with this post. I also find that imitating something/someone eventually forces you to use your own imagination and sometimes the idea which you thought you were copying, morphs into something completely different from what you had in mind.

Ummm….just a random and hopefully helpful observation: your copyright notice is right below The Simpsons comic book cover. You might consider either A) a separate copyright notice for The Simpsons or B) moving your notice to above that cover.

I agree with your thesis but I am also certain that you didn't mean to encourage plagiarizing, when you encouraged imitation.

If we are tired of failure and haven't at least copied what people are doing to be successful ;we have no room to complain.

Another good article, and right on. I have sat down to dissect a song I "wished I had written" and by the time I was starting to imitate the format with my own lyrics, I had something completely different, but with some of the sensible "framework" that was a good part of the effectiveness of the track.

I am presently doing something similar in business. Offering a cloud app that is widely used, but not in the industry that I hope will be my new clients. And then there is also the advice of Branson, "Find a business that has poor customer satisfaction, and pursue their customers." Worked for him.

Derek, thanks. I did find it very interesting and it set me upon wondering.

The rebelliousness of your point is beautiful, and as a person still resisting "the art", I want to agree and surrender this self-importance. I can duplicate, it works! Yet, I feel a lingering hint. Am I satisfying an easy way out? Is the acceptance of copy a notch above or below the demanding of _______?

Does it matter, either way? Is it the path to the right or to the path to the forward? Movement.

If it does not matter, why even copy? Is it because for some this is the way? Or why not just be fully inspired? Purely being the reflection no mind to reflect. Why copy when you can be. Right-seeing of what makes it beautiful to you makes it you, it reproduces and dances within— higher than mimicry of mind.

I know that song I love, I feel like it's mine, it must inspire me from within. Ignites my wick of creativity. Right-duplication surely brings about progress, but why not head straight towards intuitive-spontaneity, original creativity when both are at reach?

Original creativity, am I lying to myself?

Derek, as a blind musician I've done very well for myself, performing and writing, recording in my own studio, and gigging without being able to drive. My computer talks and this message was easy enough to post, but for obvious reasons, many of my "web tasks usually get procrastinated or don't get done at all. Any suggestions about a third party who can help me develop my web presence for nominal fees? Thank you.
Hi John. Just emailed you with suggestions. — Derek

Okay, true that even if you're impeccably honorable, it's not possible to avoid some form of imitation whether you think you do or not. We're part of "cultures." BUT. There's a line to be drawn here somewhere. Consider the reason Amadeus was such a great movie. Tesla and Edison. Leonardo da Vinci was, I think, almost an unknown in his day. Louder voices of his day outshouted him. Alfred Wallace, working class, did the incredibly, incredibly hard work that led to what Darwin, "noble" class, published and still gets credit for. Much of the work that went into Einstein's three famous publications was probably done by his first wife, Mileva, and even their work together was not original. They got what others had been saying published. And how about all the great stuff attributed to "Anonymous." (Slaves, women, people who aren't plugged into a distribution/limelight machine of some kind...) Etc. Probably most of the time, the true genius is never even discovered. It's sad to think of all the many people who've passed from the earth unknown, their genius never known to much of a world. I think so, anyway.

Thank you for a clever & inspiring post, Derek (as always!!) :) Hugs, Marina :)

Have you been listening to Noah St. John? I'm lost in the fun house!

My hips are squiggley and my nose is a balloon! My whole personality changed when I went from surfer chick to corporate executive with one haircut to my blonde locks!

Tell me about the fun house mirrow stuff! It's true and we buy into everyone else's prejudices.

I think sometimes all we're waiting for is permission from a trusted resource. Thanks for being that resource yet again.

This is exactly how me and all my design/coder friends learned how to design and code. Just by copying and changing and finding the process. Totally agree

My grandfather would have told you: don't try to reinvent the wheel. He was a big fan of learning from the best. Whether it was cards or roses he was developing an interest in, he'd get a book on the subject and follow the directions meticulously. The book on roses told him to dig down so far, put a layer of gravel so deep, etc., he did so and his roses were huge and FABULOUS, right from the get-go.

So very true, Derek!

“To copy is human, to create divine.”
--Jeffrey Fry
...so few are us will ever be deities, so we better get copying...there is another quote to go with this one...

...good artist borrow, great artists steal... (this has been misappropriated to Pablo Picasso by Steve Jobs)...but what it means, is you want to be great, you need to steal from greatness...

Completely agree! Why reinvent the wheel? Synthesis - combining who you organically are with other people's ideas that you resonate with - it's truly when 1+1= 4,000,000!!! I would just add - when appropriate - always give credit where credit is due. It takes nothing away from you when you appropriately credit the "shoulders of giants" you are standing on.

Had a conversation this week about this same thought doing a song in my perspective. Wow eureka food for thought ! Thanks Derek and those swipe machine genius!! Write the page I will listen :)

Oh man! Guilty as charged! Looking back I have to admit most of my creative efforts have been pendulum swings in an extreme search for "originality." In some instances, this has been an insistence to reinvent the wheel at any cost.

Good stuff. I'm chagrined and inspired. What's needed now is a carefully assessment of which of my "original" ideas which have yet to gain traction could benefit from the great ideas of other innovators.

Cheers.

Paris

There's no such thing as "original", we're all playing the same 12 notes. Artists steal and geniuses plagiarize. Your own personal spin is what makes you unique.

Great lesson on business. Even better lesson about pride!

You rock Derek! Yet another awesome way of looking at things! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and many great things have come out of someone's attempt to copy, duplicate, or otherwise imitate a person, a process, fashion, etc.Of course, like you say everyone puts their own interpretation into it. Our imperfection is what makes us perfect!

Consider: the best learning experience is imitation and exploration. Most of the rest is data filing.

This is still one of my hardest lessons to struggle with! I love to write, but I've never really finished what I believe to be a good story. Some of the hardest sticking points for me is when I say, "Well, I don't want it to look too much like I'm getting inspiration from _______, or people will think I'm copying them." If I'd stick to writing what fits, regardless of passing resemblance, I might actually get something written for once!

Wise advice.

I've always wanted to write and play original material as a musician because of a variety of reasons. Firstly wanting to be seen as a writer as well as a performer. Secondly I've always thought for me that was the important bit. Lastly - I was and still am really rubbish learning other peoples material! You can figure out if I got the order wrong there ;-)

However I have often sat down intending to write something like ... (insert latest thing I've heard that I really love) and off I go. Only for something to come out that really doesn't sound like that at all. In October last year I watched a duo busking in Chicester - they did a great version of something I honesty can't remember now but what caught my eye was the tuning and technique of the guitarist. Drop D with a capo on and two handed tapping to provide a "band like" feel. I determined to write something like that. So Drop D capo on at the 5th and off I went... in the end a folky instrumental came out of the few days of noodles. So inspired by without a doubt but ended up original - I did even try and write lyrics but then realised the reason they didn't fit was that they weren't needed!


https://soundcloud.com/grahamhunt-1/watchman-solo

That's a great way to put it, Derek: "Because humans are imperfect mirrors."

Sometimes people tell me that one can only make it in music with ORIGINAL songs, so I better write some...

But I have been copying others in all my career: singing mainly traditional songs that were good enough to stay alive for CENTURIES, so far :-) So I am happy with that, as long as I love to sing them, and as long as they inspire musicians to work with my interpretations of these songs, and of course, people like to listen to them. What else would matter?

And how did these songs remain known, by generations after generations? People copied them, from mouth to mouth, and added their own personalities to them.

If the great Axis of Awesome has show us anything it's this every song ever written has had the same 4chords
Checkout the youtube viedo Axis of Awesome 4chords not only is it quite funny it is also bang on the money

Hi Derek, always great to read you. Again I feel excited to read something that was going around my head for a while, thank you!

Once I heard something that stuck in my head for a long time, there is only two kinds of people innovators and imitators.- I obviously wanted to be on the side of innovators. -But I guess there´s not such a thing. Musicians copy all the time. I get inspiration from things I hear, and although it seems like I´m copying and in a way feel like cheating it exactly happens how you say, the result is so far from the original that people have to ask you where your influences come from. And what may seem logical and cheated it actually ends been totally different. We can so worried about what we are copying, and because we actually like it so much, we forget all the other things that are there and that define us.

Hell, Derek, all of my albums are nearly ALL covers tunes. The songs that suit me are usually better than anything I write. And it's fun trying to make a covers sound a little different from the original recording.
I would have to say that this article is pretty much me. Also, if people didn't take someone else's idea and turn it into something else, we wouldn't have much progress. That's, generally, how progress works. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this, Derek. It solidifies my beliefs. You're a prince.

EXCELLENT!!! I am trying to mirror the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am not as good as the original yet, but I am a work in progress; I'm not the mirror image I should be but I'm a lot closer than I used to be, and I have quit using the excuse that "I'm only human". The Spirit that lives within me is a powerful enabler that will allow me to be holy as He is Holy. Thank you Derek for all that you do!!!

Yes! Thank you for the reminder.

Definitely going to be copying you and thanks for posting this.

The most extreme example I know of this is the wonderful music of New Orleans. As a columnist once wrote, "If Aaron Neville could sing exactly like Dean Martin he would, God knows he's trying to!" The inability of these fantastic musicians to escape their native dialect gives NOLA music its flavor. And all the while they're thinking they are inadequate! I once watched the Neville Brothers come out on stage and open their concert with "Love The One You're With." When I quizzed their soundman what they were thinking, he said, "Well, first you have to give the people what they want , then you can do your own stuff." They just have no idea the value of their own creations.

Now , that's a real imp sight (impsight !)
Opens a new vista of opportunity

Seth Godin said that Derek Sivers of CD Baby had to become a Heretic in the music industry to create change. Imitating means that creation doesn't fall very far from the tree, but improves or morphs into a never ending improvisation of new endings, new expressions. I love to watch music artists who play their songs and add something that was never recorded. Same song, but added so much more....New and Improved can be great! Thanks Derek...you are an original who we love to imitate! Copy that!

I write a lot of music, I think it comes from outside of me and much of it does, inspiration. That's true but it also is the impression of things I have heard and I use my skill to perfect them. Some come in groups and fly to the page-amazing! But when I stand back and realize what has been happening I know that I am just the facilitator, the one who puts the ideas together using what I know to bring them to life. Where they came from---nobody knows!

Yes! I have discovered this to be true! My best songs, and unique takes on covers have proven this to me over and over...love this! r.

Hey Derek, thanks for your thoughts on that. As always, you fire the imagination and inspiration... : ) I found a preset loop the other day in my Loop Station that just turned me on...here is the result, with myself representing the lead guitar...enjoy!! http://soundcloud.com/raymarcel1966/loop-94

Thank you very much for this insight! I'll mirror this.

Good points, Derek. Again, because it's about your own experience, it makes more points more valid and more valuable.

I think it's very good to want to be original, but at the same time knowing how to get inspired by others' works and ideas is as important. Even greatest composers are inspired by other big composers' compositions. 2 of my songs are inspired by Bach and Tchaikovsky, and I have told many people about that. Were you able to pick either of them? :-)

Edit: ".....Again, because it's about your own experience, it makes YOUR* points more valid and more valuable."

Great thought, Derek!
I like this kind of post because in a few words an idea and it's implications are presented, while being specific at the same time.

Hey Derek, interesting perspective !!

Once more Derek is thinking outside the --er--mirror. I'm not alone in seeing myself as somewhat distorted even without a trick mirror. As it was written in Ecclesiastes three centuries before Christ, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Everything man creates is a riff on something else.

This is such a great and encouraging insight - thanks, Derek!

Some of the best products and ideas are like a rope with dozens, sometimes hundreds of threads woven together to produce the final product. In business each thread doesn't have to be unique - an awful lot of great ideas and products don't include a genre-defining game-changer. Some of the most successful people and companies have figured out how to combine some great (and some ordinary/mundane) ideas to create something special, unique or sought after. A few amongst us will create a revolution, an idea or widget to change the world. The majority of us won't, but it doesn't mean amazing things can't be accomplished by each of us, and we don't need to reinvent the wheel to do it.

Thanks for the great post Derek,

I am also subject to this only the best and most original will do. The first eye opener for me was Steve Jobs quotable "Good artists copy; great artists steal." Then I was thinking of a line that got wired in my mind from Led Zeppelin copying/covering Jimi Hendrix's 'If 6 was 9' in their 'Thank You'. That is a twisted fun since the original's first verse ends with "Alright, 'cos I got my own world to look through, And I ain't gonna copy you."
Both are great tunes, and doesn't resemble at all.

Insightful, as always, Derek. Revolution is actually evolution.

Copy and make it your own, a perfect way to describe innovation. That's how I started my first business. Copying an idea in one market and creating a new product based on the same idea in another. That was over 25 years ago and the idea is still going strong.

Thank you for an excellent post and for reminding how much fun life really is.

Derek you have always been an inspiration to us with all of your ideas. We miss you at cdbaby.com. Hope you continue helping others that are imperfect succeed.

Thanks for the inspiration!

When I first started playing guitar I was such a terrible player that I often wrote songs by copying popular tunes. That worked because no one recognized my pathetic attempt at copying the original.

"Hey, check this out, I learned how to play Back in Black!"

"Um, dude, that sounds NOTHING like Back in Black!"

"Perfect!!"
☺ Love this. Thank you. — Derek

Everything has been done before, just not in the way that you might do it. Creativity generates originality, but originality doesn't have to mean creating something from scratch- it more often means organizing things in a way that no one has done previously. When I first heard, "great artists steal" it offended my sensibilities as well- then I realized what it really meant and that the disruptive choice of words characterized what is actually positive wisdom as a negative recommendation.

I have to say I don't agree with this post - the first one, I should add.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19th century English poet once wrote 'I admire and do otherwise,' and I'm in firm agreement. I can see the use of copying from a learning point of view but I don't see it as a goal in itself. The only reason that I can see for putting out a cover version of a song, for example, is that you feel you can bring something different to it from the original.

We are all individuals and we all have something to offer. Copying something to learn how it's done - why not? But copying something in the hope that our imperfect efforts to do the same thing as someone else will throw up something original in ourselves seems misguided to me. Sorry, guys.

Once again Derek, gracias. Great advice. "humans are imperfect mirrors"

"Good artists copy, great artists steal!"--Picasso, Stravinsky & others
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/03/06/artists-steal/

awesome

"I pick a moon dog
Well, you can radiate everything you are
Yes, you can radiate everything you are

I roll a stoney
Well, you can imitate everyone you know
Yes, you can imitate everyone you know
[Derek] told you so"

:D

Makes sen$e to me.

I love it, Derek! It's one of those "Of course! Why didn't I think of it?...or think of it like that?!" Well put. It's freeing to think like this, too. Thanks!

Welcome back Derek, Good to have you back on track, Go for it, Our Only regret in life is the things we should do that we didn't do.

"embark on a journey and invent something unique.And while you create your Art, immagine yourself , as being one of those space pioneers , trying to break the sound barrier.." ~ BV

Immitation gives us choice. It gives us better products. It gives us affordability.

Imagine there was just one type of smartphone. One carmaker. One hamburger joint. What a boring, error-full, expensive world that would be...

So don't infringe on copyright or patents, but most certainly imitate others, their ideas, and their products.

There're 3 kinds of imitating I think are worth doing:
1. Copy something, with different tools, ideas, materials, but make a result of a total same thing as seem. Probably an innovative way to create something.
2. Make something good based on something else('s idea).
3. Parody.

Nothing is created without colliding with other things.
But I dislike things that make people feel like "It's just like the ..." but not "It's so better than ..." as a first impression.

Totally agree with you about doing covers. Spot on observation, Derek. I have a friend who thought like you, but finally gave in to doing covers because I insisted on hearing his version. I do covers all the time, but I have no problems standing out as an artist. It is all about who you are and how you connect with others. Thanks for sharing your story.

I have been thinking of writing a fictional self help book based on a similar concept of a well-known old time classic and I have dismissed those thoughts at every point, until yesterday when I decided I was going to give it a try; perhaps it will even turn very different :-) This just confirms that I should indeed go ahead.

I couldn't agree more. You're so right on when trying to write someone else's song. It never comes out sounding anything like it, but it does make for an interesting journey writing your own.

Thank you Derek. Really appreciate the re-frame (ie. "imitating" not "copying"). I realised as I was reading this that very often we try and avoid "copying". We've been told it's bad to copy peers work in school (it's called cheating), we're often made to feel bad or unoriginal if we copy another artists and of course there are some good reasons for copy "rights" to be in place to stop a certain type use, but the reality is that imitation is fundamental/key to everything we learn and do. I think the essence of imitation has a very useful element of personal deviation/difference built in. Whereas "copying" is so often seen as an attempt to make an exact replica.
I think I shall spend a little more time imitating this year!

Derek, you once said Seth Godin is your hero, I think most of this books is about expressing yourself and not copying others, emphasis on being different.
Are are correct, people copy a lot but copying by choice is a different story.

Why do we hear a lot of cover songs these days and not much great originals? A creative interpretation is one thing, a compliment to the original and a sign of appreciation, mere copy is other thing.

BTW I love how Tom Waits does his versions, I didn't hear like any cover versions of his songs that can compare to his.

Thanks Derek, time to get over Not Invented Here Syndrome.

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?NotInventedHere

Great advice, Derek. I use other artists ideas when I paint. I don't want to say I 'copy' their work, but I do get inspired by how they create and use those tools for myself. Pride can definitely be a barrier sometimes.

Innovation is a tiny twist on an idea/service/product that already existed. For example, look at this darn thing we're sharing perspectives on. It's called the World Wide Web, and it was built on something that had existed in isolated use by a select group of scientists. One of them had an idea to imitate this network on a worldwide basis by adding a universal language to it that anyone could use. Good idea, that.

Good Article, I think you're on the money. When we try to copy some one it does turn out different from the original piece by the original artist. I think it's because we are so uniquely different that who we are comes out and puts a totally different spin on things, which in turns brings out our uniqueness. So we can confidently try to copy some one and it will only bring out the real you.

It must be an INTJ thing - I've finally gotten to a place in life where I know that regardless of where the idea comes from it's HOW I offer what I do that matters, not what.

As long as how I offer the product or service is in a way that is truly reflective of who I am, then it's inspiration. There is nothing new under the sun, but there is definitely authentic expression. Thanks for this, I needed it this morning.

Keep on, keeping on.

Thanks for sharing I always learn from your sharing.

So is that why your favicon seems to imitate Smashing Magazine's? Excellent idea -- thanks for sharing!

Great post and comments Derek. i've been learning from a mentor who counts you as his online mentor. So i guess in imitating him, i'm imitating you.

Thanks Grandpa :)

Great post Derek! Is there really such as a thing in the true sense of what I think you are referring to as "an original"? On one hand, we are all influencing and inspiring each other daily with literally everything around us. Many of us are often inspired with similar ideas all the time. I guess it matters then who literally documents it and produces it first. But still there may be that individual uniqueness and originality that sets it apart.

I like to think that we all can put a unique spin to some of the not so original influences that we are impacted by, if even on a subtle level. Nonetheless, I agree with you for the most part. I don't think there is anything wrong with using as a muse something or someone's "original" to inspire your "own unique version".

Perfect. You must mediate a lot. Such insights. Our pride does hamper us. Our ego takes away the fun of it. Love the picture! Carry on oh learned one. :) And, thank you once again for sharing.

The Isle of Man is infested with giant mirrors!

Henry Threadgill says that the purpose of learning classic solos is to bring you further into yourself.

We could take more pride of being in this world and see every example we encounter as a blessing, something to learn from and share.

The fantasy of being original is also the fantasy of being separate, which is what technology seems to heighten, that sense of isolation.

In European classical music there was more leeway with stealing/borrowing material or tipping your hat to other composers. I think current practices with intellectual property could make for a stifling precent. There's not very much comradery in that. We need more of a loft scene of sharing.

Keen insight!

Everything is a copy of everything.

The printed book was a copy of handwritten books. Hand written books were a copy of speech.

Nothing in the iPod was new when it first came out. We already had mp3 players. We already had an online market for music.

Nothing in the iPhone was new. Not the phone. Not the touchscreen. Not the chips inside of it.

Nothing in computers was new. A computer is just a really big and fast calculator.

Heck, nothing in airplanes was new...birds have been flying for thousands of years!

I think if one could actually be totally original, their fan base would be small because few could relate to it. I was looking at 1930's surrealist paintings in the local modern art museum and was struck by how much of the 1960's psychedelic sensibility could be clearly seen in these 1930's and even 1914 paintings. I grew up a Santana fan and many of their iconic hits were very imperfect cover songs. I liek I like this one. It domino effected through my memories. Hendrix and the Byrds doing dylan were certainly great side grades if not outright upgrades. I also think if the budget is low, riding on the coat tails of an icon works. Local film makers did a series called Chad Vader. Darth's cousin or brother working the night shift in a grocery store. Instant audience and connection. A lot of SNL comedy is warped mirroring of previous reality.

I love the idea that we change whatever we imitate so that it becomes a reflection of ourselves/our passion and only an imperfect reflection of what we chose to imitate. I've done that throughout my academic and training careers--use someone else's work as a building block for my own work, and CREDITED those I'm inspired by or building off of.

Yes, learn from all you see,
And put results and service ahead of stubborn pride and taking credit.

That was "influenced" by your ending couplet, of course:

"So look around at those existing ideas in the world.

Get over that self-important resistance, and do the world a favor."

I have a suggestion to add as another piece or as an addendum to this one. Some folks do an absolutely wonderful job of covers; often better than the original, as I'm sure you are well aware. If these musicians happen to be part of a family where there is one or more hugely successful members, it can rapidly become a racket of riding comfortably on that wave. What say you to these folks that will get them unstuck and unlued and on to the next level? (hugs and fishes xoxoxoxo :) )

HI Derek - I used to refer to my covers as "cover twists", as I would learn them from "the record" but as soon as I did I would stop listening to the song. I would play it and play it and my version would morph a bit, and soon in a small way it was my own (version, that it). I used to preach the "gospel of originality", but I got off that high horse when I realized more people who hear my originals if I interspersed them with the covers the bar owners wanted anyway...I also realize how influenced I am, to the point where I wrote a song, "Under the Influence" that I hope to be my next title track. Keep sending the great ideas! George

So true!!! I often resist this! Think of Apple. None of their products were "originals." They simply capitalized by making the products very attractive with their own "signature," so to speak. Thanks Derek!

....never thought of it this way but....

"When a musician covers someone else's song, they clearly reveal their own warped perspective, since we know what the original looks (sounds) like. Because of this, a cover song is actually a great way to define who you are as an artist." Derek Sivers

http://deaderthanelvis.bandcamp.com/track/summertime-blues

Thanks Derek!
Great to see that idea articulated

When we came to this country in the late 80's, we played our traditional music and it had a wide audience. But it was also too different, too "foreign" for some folks. We started to look around and listen to what people in big cities and in small towns were listening to, whether the top 10 or native chants. We absorbed many of these genres and rhythms into our own music and came up with an Andean fusion style that seemed to satisfy all the folks who rejected our pure Inca sound. It's good, sometimes, to step out of the box and learn from the competition.

So often in life you have to live with half a biscuit because it's more romantic to share. Often patent lawyers have to look at much more than whether a new invention "is doing the same job" as the previous one. Unbridled progress is often too divergent to be successful, so that's where accessibility and the harmonic empathy that comes with hearing a familiar or new song appears. In the end Steve Jobs was just too rock'n'roll for his own good.

Nice article Derek! Was it Picasso that said, "Good artists copy...great artists steal."

I'll do both inconspicuously...

There is an old saying...whatever works...works... :-)
Thanks Derek.....Take care..

This post was meant for me! Thank you, this article and the one prior about doing what you love vs what you are identified by/NEED to get paid from etc, were a great read and fuel for the next leg of this adventure, thank you!

The world is round, interconnected. So, it is good that we learn, and give and take from one and other.

the "what to do" is out there by thousands the "how to do" is the key and makes all the difference ....

Until now Copying was something I never ever Did, when it came to writing a Song And I have the bank account to prove it (insufficient funds). Thank You Derek, for the advice.

After so many "Pomp and Circustance" graduations, I wrote my own, as a faculty member of Miss Porter's School, Farmington CT, It was used ( piano version) and I played it there for the last 12 years for Faculty processions etc. I had a former student ( now professional in NYC ) orchestrate it for wind ensemble doe me, and now it sits here waiting for me to pursue "getting it out there". I am 72 and don't know how. I am sure there is a market, but what do I do next? Could use some professional advice to "pursue another part of my musical dream"! It will happen when the time is right. Maybe someone out there can assist?

''we are imperfect mirrors'' is a great message. I don't know why being original is such a priority, as far as I'm concerned nothing was ever truly original, just part of an ongoing evolution. there's comfort in that. more time to create and less to worry about being unique.

As a member of a jazz group, re-working the material of others has been the mainstay of my career. It is a challenging and creative process to take something someone else created and envision other versions or uses. It doesn't have to be my original creation. The downside is when a listener complains that "their song" wasn't done right.

Hi Derek and all,

In my mind, or by singing, I often make spontaneously cover songs that sound great. I would have no shame to make a CD with cover songs, because I would do this only with the songs I know that I will sublimate.
It would be a tribute to the authors. A way to say that they have made something extraordinary.
When you revisit a song, you can take the best things in the song and make it sound greater and different. Only if you have a spontaneous inspiration. I would not do this by forcing.
You surely already know all this ;)
Someone had made a great remix of one of my song. He showed me that he had understood my song and he had sublimated some parts of it. Then, you know that you have been heard :)

Thanks for your thoughts and brain activity :)
It's a pleasure to see someone who think by himself!

Kora
from France (sorry for the possible language mistakes!)

If you borrow what you feel is the best, it elevates your work to the threshold to be able to go beyond! The finest artists did it in the Medieval workshops under the tutelage of their Masters:-) Maybe it could be termed "Seeking perfection".

Your example is spot on! The lesson you shared breaks down the walls of resistance. I've watched my musical son David do so, as you can see and hear on his blog at http://davidcourtenay.com/about/. You Derek, were one of his early mentors. Let's each come up with our very best "mirror" idea, share it and see how we can copy-cat each other to better and better versions. Kudos to you Derek as you remind us of some life-enhancing lessons!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- "that is a great idea!" It can also lead to new, and better, developments to existing ways of doing things.

Sometimes we even have to force ourselves to imitate ourselves...

Wow! How weird as I just got done making a Simpsons reference in your last story!! Lol two thumbs up to all three so far!!

Derik: This is excellent advice. I feel that you just "slapped me upside the head." The wierd part is that it felt good and my adrenaline has already kicked in. I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts and I find them inspirational. Thank you and keep the thought provoking ideas coming.

nice thought, thanks. appreciated.

This is an inspiring thought, thanks for that!

There is nothing new under the sun Ecclesiastes 1:9 - So true, and yes, I finally began working on some cover songs this winter...

I'm really struggling with this; even i know some of the most successful Entrepreneurs are doing this same thing with this same excuse .. copy like hell; time is limited .. if you can't copy it steal it .. etc ..
i still .. and can't think otherwise;
But ..
Here in this post; i found a little bit convincing idea to adopt this attitude; and it is this : you'll end up with something very different from the original idea; ..
who knows may i'll give it a try; and if it works well ..
Man; I'll copy like hell ..

thanks Derek ..

That reminds me. I need to return my credit card swiper to CD Baby...Hope I still get my $35 back! LOL!!

One of my favorite post from you so far. It spoke volumes to me. Thanks

We tend to do well at copying trends, concepts, behaviors, why not copy something that can be lucrative enough to feed you and world of individuals in need.

Great points. I suppose it's flattery when someone copies you but it's also hard when someone says "oh, yeah, I've heard of that - so and so is doing it" - and it was your idea! You make a great point on the flip side that serving your customers is most important. It's difficult to "creatively borrow" or "copy" someone else's idea when yours - including your logo and your copy, have been blatantly copied. But, when it comes to servicing customers, that's a different story. Implementing a service like credit card payments as part of a business strategy makes sense - and in that case, if it's only your ego holding you back then absolutely - get over it, and get on with servicing your customers!

Wow. THANK YOU. I've been wanting to start a cover band for a long time, covering one of my all-time favorite acts. But, my insecurity has stopped me, slowed me down and led me to attract all the people I was most afraid would respond. Those are the nay-sayers, the "what have you done before"-ers, and the "do you really think YOU (a tiny black lady) can pull off Metallica?!"-ers.

What you've written here is exactly how I've been looking at the idea. I don't want to be a carbon copy, but I want to express the songs the way I hear and internalize them. You've given me boatloads of hope! …and ideas for even MORE covers!!

Sup Derek! =D SUPER Article and it certainly did come into my life at a very interesting and amazing time. =) Indeed "The Face of The Earth" is "A Mirror" and does indeed selectively share with each of us individual spiritual and psychological satisfaction if we simply listen to the Subconscious. =)

I know for fact that periodically You checkout fun movies and releases that are highly intellectual. I'm not certain if You've had the chance or spent the time in life to view them yet or not but the films Her (2013) [Directed by Spike Jonze] and Transcendence (2014) starring Johnny Depp honestly are sci-fi to an extent...
yet share how there likely is something more to living in this digital age than we may ever consciously be aware of... and shares how us doing what we knew before may indeed affect our individual futures. =) However...

Film is film and reality is reality yet I am VERY glad to see the world overcome would-have-been laws like PIPA and ACTA which would have removed human evolution's "Turbo Engines" felt while our spirits share time with collages and mix matches of information past and presence on the internet in an entertaining learning environment. ^_^ Do You see that we are already establishing Online
Public Schools? =) ...For worse or better... it's the direction humanity is going. =)

With merged physical and digital ... not sure what the results may be...
But it certainly sure is interesting -- very interesting -- to exist upon an Earth of Mirrors! =D How are you doing this amazing day by the way? =)

F.I.L.,
-BAM! P.E.F. - WAM! DJ, TIGER M! ^_~*

This Is TIGER M! =)
http://www.tigerm.net

Similarly, on a less human and more technical point of view, let's remember the mighty Mellotron, the tapes-driven sampling keyboards from the late 60's, that was created to emulate orchestras. The copy was bad, and that's exactly why it was a great machine: so bad that it became a sound in itself, a unique sound that now... orchestras try to copy.

Ego. Part of wanting to be original is ego.

My city has no tap card for transit.
As you know, London has the Oyster card, and many cities in Asia for many years have had cards where you just tap as you get on the bus, instead of having to fish out your change and have it go jingling down a machine.

My city, the fourth largest in Canada, wanted to build our own software for a tap. Call it "re-inventing the wheel." A city employee confided to me that it's an ego thing, that "we can do anything better."

Result? After much time and taxpayer money, the local folks contracted by the city to build an original tap program gave up.

My city still has no transit tap card. (Calgary)

"Originality is only plagiarism from a great many," remarked Rupert Brooke, who took it from Voltaire (and I learned it from Richard Cohen's "How to Write Like Tolstoy").

I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Even quotations can be like hyperlinks. T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land introduced me to Baudelaire, for example.

It's been a question for me about whether to read fiction while I'm writing fiction. I've decided, partly based on this post, that I will. Loving reflection is more like homage than theft; I would love for something I've written to influence someone else's work.

Dear Sir
Yes, we can improvise on others path rather than inventing the wheel all by ourselves. Technically there is nothing called original. It's how we use the ideas, platform or item of subject in question, which makes us original or great.
Yours
VN

Howdy
OMG I needed to hear that. I'm trawling through emails and the random URL caught my eye - it hit my "fuck it" button. And I'm struggling with my diabetes stuff thinking - there is so much out there, why am I new? I just can't copy these other people and ... TADA! This freaking post pops up

thanks again my friend. you are a ray of light when I get head fucked.
you are like a little internal google map of the soul

have a lovely lovely week
Rhaya

I think this was a good thought. I am out on You tube often. When I think I will only hear a song by a famous person, not so.