I'll throw my hat into the ring here. Unless a cover takes a wildly different arrangement or is from a different genre, I often find myself saying, "So what? You didn't write it!" That is, unless the performance is somehow noteworthy. I have a few similarly-arranged, similar-genre covers that made it into the Top 31 based on performance.
But that doesn't mean I don't like covers. Like 'em just fine. Just think that unless there's something that stands out about them in a good way then there's really no point in listening. As far as reasons for playing them, I dig when the artist just loves the song or seeks to take an underappreciated, unloved song and bring it to the fore. I understand and dig that, too.
But a perfunctory cover to appease a label or an audience? No thanks.