bobschm Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Anyone know the copyright law regarding parodies? What happens if I rewrite the words to a famous song? Do I need permission to publish it? Does Weird Al Yamkovich have to pay the original author? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Hans Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Not a lawyer but my first reaction is yes.... the music is copyrighted... not just the lyrics. If you're using the music I don't think it matters whether you publish it without words or with new words, you're still violating copyright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJackal Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 There was a whole thing about Vanilla Ice using the beginning of Pressure by Queen. If I remember correctly, because Ice added 1 note, it was considered a different song. So, my gut feeling would be....if you plan on publishing the song, yes..you need the artists permission. I would get it in writing. As for Al Yankovic, he speaks with the artist directly after a misunderstanding with Coolio's label. Al ended up paying Coolio. I imagine he gets everything in writing. Whether he pays them, you would have to ask him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeERWNC Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 It didn't work out well for Vanilla Ice at first.Queen sued and won.As part of the settlement Vanilla Ice bought the rights to the song for lots and lots of money. As a result, he now gets royalties for both songs. Can you say SCORE? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$He was on O&A talking about how much money he is receiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflights Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 It didn't work out well for Vanilla Ice at first.Queen sued and won.As part of the settlement Vanilla Ice bought the rights to the song for lots and lots of money. As a result, he now gets royalties for both songs. Can you say SCORE? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$He was on O&A talking about how much money he is receiving. And I thought all his money came from his HGTV show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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