A "sound-alike" recording is a recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular recording, which the average listener will not be able to differentiate from the original. Random Sounds does not distribute sound-alike content.
Sound-alike recordings are usually made as cheap copies or "knockoffs" of popular recordings, the style of a popular artist or a current musical trend to fool and confuse the audience.
Why don't we distribute sound-alike?
If we can't distinguish your version from the original version, we don't know if you are using audio that you may not have rights to.
We don't want to distribute something that could cause confusion for listeners and problems for you. We want to make sure your music is available everywhere and isn't removed from a platform for breaking the rules.
How do we decide what content is sound-alike?
Our review team decides if a song is sound-alike by asking a simple question:
Is there any difference in style, instrumentation or vocals that lets us know this is not the original recording?
Important note: This question is asked for both the vocals and the instrumental track. We do this to ensure that the song as a whole is an original version and not just the vocals.
Do we also take tempo and key into account to determine if your recording is sound-alike?
We cannot accept tempo or key changes just as proof that a song is not sound-alike. With the rise of accelerated (sped-up) or slowed and reverb versions we must be increasingly strict with these controls to prevent fraud.
Now, we're not talking about stylistic tempo changes throughout the song or changing a song originally in a major key to a minor key. These are included in the "style difference" section above. What we're talking about here is the change in sound when you load the original track and speed it up or slow it down in the audio editing software.
Final Observations
If you want to distribute a "sound-alike" recording you could have legal problems with the original composers and right-owners. This is something that has already happened several times in the music industry.
When in doubt, put your own style into your cover. Not only will that prevent you from having problems with sound-alike content, but it will also help you build a fan base dedicated to your unique sound.