Secondhandsongs

: As of 2025, the database catalogs over one million covers and roughly 100,000 original works .

Known as the premier database for cover songs, samples, and remixes, SecondHandSongs has spent over two decades documenting the complex genealogy of music. Here is everything you need to know about this essential digital archive. What is SecondHandSongs? secondhandsongs

: Beyond data, the platform has played a role in the professional world, such as helping license songs like Brandi Carlile’s "The Story" for worldwide use in books. The Human Element The "story" of SecondHandSongs is ultimately told by its volunteer curators : As of 2025, the database catalogs over

Whether you are a musicologist, a copyright lawyer, a DJ digging for an obscure original, or just a curious listener who wants to sound smart at parties, is an indispensable tool. What is SecondHandSongs

Launched in 2003, SecondHandSongs is a community-driven database dedicated to tracking the history of music. Its primary mission is to identify the of a song and catalog every subsequent cover, adaptation, or sample that follows.