okay so I freaked out a little (Patreon)

I stand by what I said: record labels are parasites that actively prevent art from happening.But—the worst they'll do is a takedown, which is functionally my song blooping out of existence. It'll be a polite letter from Distrokid, informing me that I did too well. But record companies, to quote a redditor, want a piece of the pie, not to burn down the bakery.If the song does well enough that they notice me, well, that's a good problem to have. By that point, I've already achieved exposure, and unless my version eclipses the original (for example, are you aware who originally wrote Hurt? bc It wasn't Johnny Cash), nobody cares, and if my song actually eclipsed the original, they're going to want to make a deal, not take me to court.Yeah, so it really comes down to paying a $12 cover license and letting what happens, happen. I, personally, feel that this song is a cover; I can't imagine anybody hearing it and not immediately recognizing it as a cover of Noah Kahan's Stick Season with a potentially derivitive chorus, but on a scale of a Caleb Hyles cover to a Reinary cover, I think I'm closer to Caleb Hyles—its a massive switch in instrumentation and genre, but I didn't change the lyrics, structure, or key (if I did, I can't remember, but it wouldn't be like a minor key to a major key). Probably the biggest change is a mid-song tempo-shift, which might be a bit brilliant on my part, if I do say so, myself.All that out of the way, I'm a neurotic creature, and I desperately need everybody to be honest with me when y'all hear it—did I cover the song or did I reinvent it