Adapting a song to another language is an interesting proposition. Not only does it give the song a chance to succeed in a different market, but as in the case of a hit song, it re-introduces it to an audience that may already be familiar with the original version. This adds the extra appeal of presenting it in its native language and creating new sync opportunities (Publishing).

 

   What is an adaptation ?

   A specialty niche within songwriting, Song Adaptation is the art of making a song work effectively in a different language. This process is NOT called “translating” because in essence it's much more complex. As an example, words that mean the same in different languages  most often "sound" different, compromising the rhyming patterns. Also, they tend to have different numbers of syllables, making it impossible for the melody to work without compromising the phrasing and flow of the original composition. Adapting ideas to say the same thing in a different way creates the difficult challenge of finding a balance between two fighting forces. 1- the literal translation, that fights for meaning and 2- the equally important "sound", and flow (rhythm), created in part by vowels, consonants and syllables. These aspects give songs their special personality and identity.

 

   There are different techniques and schools of thought on how to go about this work but for Cris Zalles, the process is guided by the absolute need to respect the original meaning, melody, lyric style, time, hook, flow, phrasing and rhyming structure of the original version. In other words, he doesn't "translate" a lyric altering the melodies and departing from the original intention just to "fit" the phrasing of a literal translation. His goal is to find other ways to say the same thing while preserving and considering the intention of the songwriter. 

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   How does an adaptation fall within copywrite law ?

   A song that has been adapted to a different language is considered a separate derivative work which needs to be registered with a copywrite office. Cris' experience along with the support of a great team of professionals, helps clients make this process easy to navigate.

 

   Experience

    As a professional songwriter, Cris began doing this type of work in 1994 and in 1996, he had his 1st hit with the song VIDA by Spanish artist Marcos Llunas, adapted from the Italian language for Universal Music (Polygram).  Since then, Cris has worked on many adaptations of songs originally recorded by artists like Sting, George Michael, Foreigner, Ed Sheeran, Eric Clapton, Ace of Base, Nick Jonas, Rihanna, David Bisbal, REM, INXS, Diego Torres, Santana, Plain White T’s, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, Marcos Llunas and many others.

 

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