children's campfire song royality rift

[Gandalfe]

You have to be so careful if you are a major band/name. I hear the advertising industry using songs that are close to well-known copyrighted music all the time. I wonder who decides, wow, we can get a lot of money from this musician.

"A judge ordered Australian band Men at Work on Tuesday to hand over a portion of the royalties from their 1980s hit 'Down Under,' after previously ruling its distinctive flute riff was copied from a children's campfire song. But the penalty -- 5 percent of the song's royalties -- was far less than the 60 percent sought by Larrikin Music, which holds the copyright for the song 'Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.'" ~ popeater.com

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This is one case verdict that I think has a good chance of being overturned in appeals court. There is two sound bites to compare at the link provided here.

Note, I know famous writers who would never read anyone else's draft work because they were afraid of these kind of suits. I can't imagine not listening to music for the same reason! For me, it'd be impossible.

 

[pete]

"Happy Birthday" is copyrighted. That's why you rarely hear it during birthday scenes on TV. A lot of people don't know that they'd have to pay to use it.

For what it's worth, my opinion on copyright is that it should be a lot more lax than it currently is. As an example, I was listening to a tune by Peter Schickele last night that sounds extremely similar to another song I know that came out later AND both sound similar to a song a friend of mine wrote that is "based" on that "similar song".

All the songs were meant for different audiences and had different lyrics, tho.

Lots of classical music is based in part or in whole on folk songs and such: the various Folk Song Suites by Vaughn Williams immediately spring to mind. Sometimes classical music borrowed not only from "folk songs" but from contemporary music.

Sorting it all out makes things really, really difficult for the composer.

 

[Steve]

G - I read that too

can't believe they wanted 60% of royalties when the flute part was . ooh about 5% of the song, which is the amount that got awarded. of course it only goes back to 2002 due to statute of limitation laws

 

[SOTSDO]

Much of the classical and romantic "quoting" was based upon folk songs that were then in the public domain. Nothing wrong with that.

I always wondered if "Dixie" and "Battle Hymn Of The Republic/John Brown's Body" were free and clear when Elvis put the two together in "American Trilogy". That tune has returned a lot of bux to the Presley estate, and one can see heirs of Julia Ward Howe eyeing the total and thinking "Can we pull this off?"

The current figures are 75 plus 75, right? But, that wasn't grandfathered, so JWH's kith and kin are probably out of luck. As "Dixie" antedates the "Battle Hymn", that shuts them out as well.

I'm still waiting for someone to pot part of one of my music compositions. The best of them is "Damn It VA, I Want My Dough!", an eleven o'clock number from the musical that I wrote for a Veteran's Administration office function back in 1972. The words wouldn't be of much use to Sondheim, but the music might come in handy for the next Company from the master's pen. And, I hold the rights on both sides.

Mind you, I'm not planning to move into offices in the Brill Building just yet...