So for the first time since the Lucy Spraggan fakes - and the first time this year - there is a new addition! Well done Loreen Harris :D

I was thinking it's been a while since we've seen a fake version make the charts. Well, let's hope it's a sign that 'I Love It' - the official version - is going to be a smash hit! :D

Yay for Loreen Harris! Her version is actually good :o I do hope Icona Pop don't lose out on too many sales due to all these fakes, #1 doesn't seem possible now but hopefully top 3

So this week's Icona Pop tributes

 

#71 Venus Palmero "I Love It (I Don't Care)"

#90 Glee Cast "I Love It"

 

I know that the Glee Cast version is not a 'fake' version but it should be noted in the opening post, as Icona Pop's version not being available is the reason behind most of its sales.

^ Not just Glee Cast, a lot of them aren't "fakes". If you look up some of those artists, they've covered loads and loads of songs like Glee Cast have, and occasionally it happens that a song they covered isn't released in the UK yet. It's not always just people making money off a song not being released yet.

I won't be including Glee's version in this list (as I didn't with 'We Are Young').

 

I know some of the ones in the first list are genuine covers rather than money-grabbers (most aren't though) but the general theme with all of those on the list is they plummet out of the chart on the original's release, if they're not deleted before that point. Genuine cover or not I'm counting the likes of Vandarth and Marco Calliari (which was originally just a version of the song Yolanda Be Cool sampled, but the version that sold was a soundalike remix of it). I am drawing the line at Glee though.

 

Venus Palermo added anyhow!

Edited June 16, 201312 yr by Bré

I think some of them like Big Hits 2012 and Ameritz maybe work for like a karaoke company or something as well (like the ones that sell those karaoke games for parties where they have the instrumental playing the lyrics appear on the screen and you sing along). But I agree for the purposes of this thread they should all be included.

I won't be including Glee's version in this list (as I didn't with 'We Are Young').

 

I know some of the ones in the first list are genuine covers rather than money-grabbers (most aren't though) but the general theme with all of those on the list is they plummet out of the chart on the original's release, if they're not deleted before that point. Genuine cover or not I'm counting the likes of Vandarth and Marco Calliari (which was originally just a version of the song Yolanda Be Cool sampled, but the version that sold was a soundalike remix of it). I am drawing the line at Glee though.

 

Venus Palermo added anyhow!

HelenaMaria exist too!

 

And the last fake I Love It fakes :(

 

#49 Remix Junkies - I Don't Care I Love It

#61 Remix Chix - I Love It

And the last fake I Love It fakes :(

 

#49 Remix Junkies - I Don't Care I Love It

#61 Remix Chix - I Love It

 

The same song in the Top 75 twice under different titles and artists. ICONIC POP FACT.

Only one of the fakes of 'I Love It' actually got the title right :lol:

2 more additions this week. Proving the former part of the subtitle of this thread correct, New Music Masters have got #61 with a fake version of a song that is actually out already ('I Love It' again) and Spark Productions are riding off the fake resurrection getting to #84 with their version of Avicii's 'Wake Me Up'.

Edited June 30, 201312 yr by LoveBréAgain

Updated with the new, freshly announced peak of Spark Productions. Joint 3rd highest peaking fake ever after Precision Tunes and Airi L (tied with Marco Calliari).

Added Select Hits 'Sonnentanz (Sun Don't Shine)'.

Select Hits 'Talk Dirty' added. Select Hits are the second fake act to manage more than one top 100 hit, following Big Hits 2012 who had four (I don't think we'll see any more of them though).

First update for quite a while! DJ Stay The Night charts at #57 and looks like possibly climbing into the top 40 next week (unless he gets deleted) to become the eighth fake top 40 hit.

2012: The peak year for fake versions. *.*

 

I was actually thinking it had been a while since any had charted, maybe they're not doing as well (in general) due to pre-order visibility? Or the fact that record labels tend to be offering 1 track pre-orders over EP pre-orders (so you don't have to pay £1.99 - £2.99 to pre-order)? Could it possibly be related more to the decline in singles sales (meaning that people don't demand the song immediately - as less people are downloading anyway)? :o

2012: The peak year for fake versions. *.*

 

I remember there were lots in 2010 and 2011 as well, but a lot of them didn't get put in the charts for some reason.

 

You're right though, there haven't been very many lately.

The number of fake versions has seemed to die down with the increased amount of single track pre-orders. It's quite bizarre that 'Stay The Night' has a fake version charting though, when the pre-order is relatively low.

The only reason why these fake versions are ever even issued is due to the fact that the UK waits for a record to build up airplay on the Radio before releasing a track. These fakes kill the sales of the original version when it is released. They only get away with it because the EU Law allows them to make cover versions. It states that if the original version is officially released in just one of the member countries than they are free to issue these covers. Since most other member countries use the system whereby a new record on the Radio is on sale, they are not plagued by these cover version.

However the record companies in the UK got bitten hard with On Air On Sale, when some artists released records using this method and because they entered low having no airplay, where deemed flops by the big radio stations and therefore not given airplay. So the principal was dropped.

In practice it only needs adjusting so that records such as those clearly going to big hits, such as those released in the USA and other places (but mostly the USA) go straight to OAOS and the rest get airplay.

 

Let's also be clear that a fake version is a cover, simply to make money using session musicians, who probably record several different versions of the same song under different names. These names are also made to be found quickly by a search engine from someone looking for the original artist. They are often purchased by people thinking it is the original artist and is made to sound like it is especially for the sample player used by sales sites.

It should be pointed out the money made from these is big, sufficient to cover the registration fee for the OCC inclusion in the charts, which is why they chart in the OCC chart now and didn't a few years ago. The company(s) that made them quickly caught on to the fact paying the fee for the chart was worth it. So registered the tracks.

I believe that some companies give different names for the same track for both iTunes and Amazon. So on iTunes the same singers will be called one thing and on Amazon another. This can mean sometimes they chalk up two purchases for the same record.

Does anybody know how much the I Love It fakes have sold in total? Would be interesting to see how much Icona Pop may have been losing out on (though we can assume some of the people who bought this may have bought the original as well)