fast car
Tracy Chapman topped Billboard’s Country Songwriters chart (dated June 17) for the first time, thanks to Luke Combs’ cover of her hit “Fast Car.”
Combs’ version has generated at least $500,000 in global publishing royalties, Billboard estimates, with the majority of it going to Chapman, who owns both the writers’ and publisher’s share of the song. Additionally, the success of Combs’ version has boosted Chapman’s original, with weekly consumption of Chapman’s version increasing 44% since Combs’ version was released, according to Luminate.
“I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there,” Chapman told Billboard in a statement. “I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”You got a fast carI want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterStarting from zero got nothing to loseMaybe we’ll make somethingMe, myself, I got nothing to prove
You got a fast carI got a plan to get us outta hereI been working at the convenience storeManaged to save just a little bit of moneyWon’t have to drive too farJust ‘cross the border and into the cityYou and I can both get jobsAnd finally see what it means to be living
See, my old man’s got a problemHe live with the bottle, that’s the way it isHe says his body’s too old for workingHis body’s too young to look like hisMy mama went off and left himShe wanted more from life than he could giveI said somebody’s got to take care of himSo I quit school and that’s what I did
You got a fast carIs it fast enough so we can fly away?We gotta make a decisionLeave tonight or live and die this way
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your carSpeed so fast it felt like I was drunkCity lights lay out before usAnd your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulderAnd I-I had a feeling that I belongedI-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast carWe go cruising, entertain ourselvesYou still ain’t got a jobAnd I work in the market as a checkout girlI know things will get betterYou’ll find work and I’ll get promotedWe’ll move out of the shelterBuy a bigger house and live in the suburbs
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your carSpeed so fast it felt like I was drunkCity lights lay out before usAnd your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulderAnd I-I had a feeling that I belongedI-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast carI got a job that pays all our billsYou stay out drinking late at the barSee more of your friends than you do of your kidsI’d always hoped for betterThought maybe together you and me’d find itI got no plans, I ain’t going nowhereTake your fast car and keep on driving
So I remember when we were driving, driving in your carSpeed so fast it felt like I was drunkCity lights lay out before usAnd your arm felt nice wrapped ’round my shoulderAnd I-I had a feeling that I belongedI-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone
You got a fast carIs it fast enough so you can fly away?You gotta make a decisionLeave tonight or live and die this way
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Tracy L. Chapman
Luke Combs has driven his “Fast Car” to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 – and Tracy Chapman is riding shotgun.
The surprise success of Combs’ cover has been a minor windfall for Chapman, the sole songwriter of the 1988 hit from her breakthrough debut album. Billboard estimates that Combs’ version has generated about $500,000 in publishing royalties globally from its March 17 debut through June 8. Chapman alone is pocketing a sizable portion of that total.
Most of the royalties have come from 154 million U.S. on-demand audio streams from services such as Spotify and Apple Music from March 17 to June 8, according to Luminate. During that period, “Fast Car” also had 6 million video streams and 28 million programmed audio streams in the United States. The track has also been purchased 86,000 times, while the album on which it appears, Combs’ Gettin’ Old, has been purchased 68,000 times in both digital and physical formats. The United States accounts for more than three quarters of the song’s global consumption — a high ratio not atypical for a country artist.
What’s more, Combs’ success with “Fast Car” has also given Chapman’s original recording a boost. Weekly consumption — measured by track sales and streaming converted into equivalent track units — increased 44% since Combs’ version was released, while average weekly radio spins improved about 11%. That’s resulted in a boost in U.S. recorded revenues of about $54,000, with $13,000 coming from publishing royalties, Billboard estimates. (Warner Music Group’s Elektra Records, not Chapman, owns the recorded music rights.) Interest in Chapman herself appears to have increased, too: U.S. Google searches for the singer almost tripled from the weeks ended March 18 to June 3, according to Google Trends.
“Fast Car,” the first single for Chapman’s eponymous debut album, has been covered by the likes of Sam Smith, Khalid, Black Pumas and English producer Jonas Blue, whose dance version reached No. 2 on The Official U.K. Singles Chart and No. 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016. But in the United States, Combs’ version became the most successful to date by reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated June 17), surpassing Chapman’s original which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, and helped her debut album reach triple platinum within a year of its release.
Combs’ “Fast Car” peaked at No. 1 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart (dated June 10) and No. 2 on the Country Streaming Songs chart (dated April 29). It also reached No. 6 on the Country Airplay chart (dated June 17) in just its eighth week on the tally and hit No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart (dated May 6), which combines radio airplay and streams. North of the U.S. border, “Fast Car” reached No. 2 on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart (dated May 6), No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart (dated May 27) and No. 36 on the Canada All-Format Airplay chart (dated June 10).
Tracking the ownership of “Fast Car” is like a brief lesson in the history of major publishing dealmaking of the last four decades. Chapman signed a publishing deal with SBK Entertainment prior to signing with Elektra Records in 1987. SBK was acquired by EMI Music Publishing in 1989. Citi took control of EMI in 2011 after private equity firm Terra Firma defaulted on its debt from a 2007 acquisition. A consortium of investors led by Sony Music Entertainment acquired EMI Music Publishing in 2012. In 2018, Sony Corporation bought out the remaining 60% of EMI Music Publishing. But the rights to “Fast Car” reverted to Chapman a few years ago, according to a Sony Music Publishing spokesperson. As sole owner of the songwriting and publishing rights, Chapman can pocket all royalties generated from “Fast Car” and other songs in her catalog, less any fees paid to a third party for administration services.
“Fast Car” is a rarity in an age of sampling, interpolations and Taylor Swift’s re-recordings. Outside of holiday music, cover songs rarely appear in the top 10 of the Hot 100 singles chart. In fact, the last time a cover entered the top 10 of the Hot 100 was Anna Kendrick’s version of “Cups,” a folk song written in 1931 and recorded by Hendricks for the movie Pitch Perfect that reached No. 6 in 2013. Prior to “Cups,” two cover versions from the TV show Glee appeared in the top 10: “Don’t Stop Believin’” (originally by Journey) in 2009 and “Teenage Dream” (originally by Katy Perry) in 2010. Chapman earns some royalties when “Fast Car” is sampled or used in an interpolation – Chris Brown‘s 2017 song “Runaway,” for example — but she keeps 100% of the songwriting and publishing royalties of cover songs.
Over the past few years, country superstar Luke Combs has succeeded in crossing over to a pop audience with a pair of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 2020’s “Forever After All” (No. 2) and last year’s “The Kind of Love We Make” (No. 8). Now he’s gunning for a third, with his cover of Tracy Chapman‘s 1988 hit, “Fast Car,” reaching No. 14 on the tally this week (it’s also sitting pretty at No. 2 on Hot Country Songs).
It’s rare for a country artist to record a cover of a pop hit, but as a fan-favorite staple of Combs’ live shows, “Fast Car” built up a head of steam that was undeniable, making the choice to get it on record an easy one (the song is included on Combs’ latest album, Gettin’ Old). But the decision to release it as a single — an even more unusual move — was part of a strategy to continue expanding Combs’ fanbase to a pop audience. And that helps Combs’ manager, Make Wake Artists founder Chris Kappy, earn the title of Billboard‘s Executive of the Week.
Below, Kappy discusses the choice to finally record “Fast Car” six years after Combs first released a snippet of it, the track’s embrace by radio programmers and how it ties into Combs’ success as a worldwide touring phenomenon. “Being able to have a hit that is globally recognized and accepted outside of country radio, and into the ears of CHR and Hot AC listeners, is very much the same thing as being able to do sold-out shows in places we have never been,” says Kappy. “The music is traveling and we want to be on the forefront in any way possible.”
This week, Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” hit No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Hot Country Songs. What key decision did you make to help make this happen?
I got out of the way. I know that sounds weird, but it truly is what we do with Luke. He knows his fanbase so well, and he also knows what works. The song felt right when he sang it in the studio, and we all just nodded in the control booth.
Luke Combs performs onstage during Day 3 of the 2022 Stagecoach Festival at the Empire Polo Field on May 01, 2022 in Indio, Calif.
Amy Sussman/GI for Stagecoach
“Fast Car” was a popular staple at Luke’s live shows, but the decision to record the cover for Gettin’ Old — and especially to release it as a single — feels like an outside-the-box move. What was behind that?
The demand from our fans has been rabid for “Fast Car” since he first released a snippet of it more than six years ago. We also felt that it would help draw non-country fans into the genre and experience the wonder that is country music. This song is an iconic masterpiece and we all felt that it was the perfect song to crossover to a new audience that we didn’t particularly have.
It’s interesting to note that Luke kept the “checkout girl” lyric instead of changing it to “checkout boy.” What was behind the decision to stay 100% faithful to the original lyrics?
Luke is a songwriter too and Tracy is one of his favorite artists. So his goal was to never change the song. His goal was to honor the perfection that it is, and changing the gender never crossed his mind.
Was there a good-faith attempt made to reach out to Tracy and ask her permission to cover the song, even though that wasn’t required? If so, did you all track her down, and what, if anything, was her response?
At this level, our labels and teams have been in communication and we were always going to follow her lead. Luke, nor I, have spoken directly to Tracy. This is her song and we were going to live within any parameters she had for her song. We are just happy we were able to release it and see the response of fans enjoying it.
Are there plans to make a video?
If given the opportunity, we would love to be able to create a visual piece that would only enhance this already amazing song.
Are there any plans for Luke and Tracy to perform the song together?
As of right now, no. But we never say never to anything.
Big pop covers are a bit of a rarity these days — the trend has swung more toward interpolations recently, which allows songwriters to keep a bigger piece of the publishing pie. But are there advantages to trying to break a cover as opposed to an interpolation?
I don’t think we were looking to make money off of this, as much as Luke wanted to be able to deliver a great song, that has shaped his musical career, and give it to a new generation and genre of fans. Luke doesn’t think, “How can I make money off of this,” more so, how can he give the fans a look into the music that shaped him?
Is it tough going to radio with a big cover in 2023? There are so few conventional covers on the airwaves these days. Do you have to demonstrate a song’s strength at streaming before program directors will even start a conversation with you about putting it in rotation?
Luckily, this song has hit home with a lot of programmers. It has given them the opportunity to showcase a song they also love. We are having streaming success, very early out of the gate, but we are also having radio success running parallel with it. It’s fun to see the both running, hand in hand, with one another.
Luke already saw success with Billboard top 10 hits like “Forever After All” and “The Kind of Love We Make.” What could the success of “Fast Car” at pop radio mean in terms of exposing him to a new audience?
We have always wanted to bring our genre to the ears of more people. That’s why we play shows internationally and invest in Europe, Australia, and Canada. Being able to have a hit that is globally recognized and accepted outside of country radio, and into the ears of CHR and Hot AC listeners, is very much the same thing as being able to do sold-out shows in places we have never been. The music is traveling and we want to be on the forefront in any way possible.
Speaking of crossover success, Luke is at such a career high point all around, including as a global touring star — rare for a country artist. Do these kinds of big successes at pop radio help his act translate to an international audience?
Luke has already laid the groundwork for his global success before this release. What I think happens now, is that we are able to widen our focus so when we do come back to other countries, we can welcome more fans and give them the experience that is three chords and the truth. It’s all we have ever wanted to do.
Previous Executive of the Week: George Prajin of Prajin Records
-
Pages