Singing covers online pays off for actor Max Schneider
Singer-songwriter Max Schneider, who has made a career out of covering other people's songs on YouTube, tells USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham that the art of the perfect cover song is making it your own. VPC
Actor/singer Max Schneider started out doing covers.(Photo: Jefferson Graham)
LOS ANGELES — Singing his version of pop hits by Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars has paid off for actor Max Schneider. His YouTube channel[1] has more than 700,000 subscribers and helped get his name out there. He co-stars in NBC's Crisis TV show, and is about to embark on a 24-city tour singing his own material, thanks to his growing online fan base. He told us about why so many folks start off singing other people's hits in a recent interview at USA TODAY's L.A. offices.
POPULARITY OF ONLINE COVERS
"Especially when a song is really big in the top 10, it's being searched a lot, it's getting a lot of traffic... a lot of people have garnered followings and created careers out of doing covers, and have transitioned it to original music."
When you post a cover of a hot song, "the videos will be right next to the originals, because they'd get the same amount of views."
And the art of doing a good cover video?
"Completely making it your own, whether it's a different key, a different genre, we'll make it acoustic, it makes it our style, it's all about making it your own."
To get a following, you also have to be willing to spend up front and hope to make it back in online advertising. Schneider spends "thousands" on his videos because "anyone can make a laptop video. If you're doing a cover of a popular song, the production values now has to look just as good."
Actor/Singer Max Schneider(Photo: Jefferson Graham)
KICKSTARTER FOR FUNDING NEW ALBUM
After an unhappy experience at a major record label, Schneider turned to crowdfunding site Kickstarter to raise funds to produce his new album, Nothing Without Love, which will be released later this year. He raised $50,000, but learned what not to offer in giveaways for next time.
"Kickstarter is an amazing thing. You want to make something and may not have the funds, but you end up actually spending half of what you raised on giveaways….I'd make more personal experiences, like making voice mails for people. Those are super fun."
TOUR GEAR
For his upcoming tour he will bring along an iPhone, MacBook Air and "a lot of GoPros." The tiny cameras, popularized as action cams for extreme sports, are enjoyed by musicians as well as a way to capture cool angles from the musician's point of view during shows. "I'm thinking about doing some stage dives. I may wear a GoPro on my forehead."
APPS
Schneider's favorite apps:
• iTalk ($1.99, Apple only) is a voice recorder similar to "Voice Memos" on the iPhone. It lets you record into the iPhone microphone. The difference: "You can change the quality of the recording" by saving recordings at higher resolution.
• Ukulele Chord Kumo (99 cents, Apple) is beloved by uke player Schneider, to learn fingering of chords. "I use it every day."
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Singer-songwriter Max Schneider refers to this iPhone app when he needs to check a chord on his ukulele. VPC
References
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQIRM93QxhQ4pGm0cxuCXDw (www.youtube.com)