September 23, 2015

"I am thrilled to be a part of the historic effort to set 'Happy Birthday' free and give it back to the public where it belongs."

A lawsuit we can all be glad has succeeded: "A judge ruled on Tuesday that the long-claimed copyright on 'Happy Birthday to You,' the most popular tune in the English language, is not valid."
The decision, by Judge George H. King of United States District Court in Los Angeles, is a blow to the music publisher Warner/Chappell and its parent company, the Warner Music Group, which have controlled the song since 1988 and reportedly still collect some $2 million annually in licensing fees for it.... Judge King’s 43-page decision delved into the complex history of the song — a paper trail of copyright registrations and yellowed songbooks that goes back more than a century....
Warner. Remember when it was Warner Brothers and Jerry Garcia said "There isn't even a Warner brother to talk to"?

The nerve of some corporations, collecting money for an old folk song, the epitome of what should be in the public domain.

You'd think in all these years of irritating phony copyright gouging, people would have abandoned the old song. It's no more necessary than "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," which no one sings anymore. But you'll say it is necessary, because birthdays require that a song be sung. And the alternatives are... at best... inappropriate....



We’ve given up caffeine and sworn off desserts / I don’t try to seduce you, we don’t even flirt / We’re too good to be happy, too straight to be sad / So just blow out the candles...

17 comments:

Brando said...

Sadly, no one has come up with a catchier birthday song, even though many have tried.

Expat(ish) said...

I was at a birthday celebration in the UK recently and we sang "he's a jolly good" including "huzzah" with no irony at all.

-XC

SeanF said...

Brando: Sadly, no one has come up with a catchier birthday song, even though many have tried.

I beg to differ. "Weird Al" Yankovic succeeded:

Well, it's time to celebrate your birthday, it happens every year
We'll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer
You should be good and happy that there's something you can eat
A million people every day are starving in the street

Your daddy's in the gutter with the wretched and the poor
Your mama's in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four
There's garbage in the water
There's poison in the sky
I guess it won't be long before we're all gonna die

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you


:)

Laslo Spatula said...

Carly Simon went to the same tailor as David Byrne..

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

The still of Carly looks like someone Photoshopped Farrah Fawcett hair onto the face of Bob Dylan.

I am Laslo.

Charlie Currie said...

Pete Seeger was unavailable for comment...wimoweh, wimoweh...

Laslo Spatula said...

I Googled "James Taylor pees into Carly Simon's mouth" and got nothing.

Which can only mean James Taylor is good at keeping a secret.

I am Laslo.

Darrell said...

I Googled "James Taylor pees into Carly Simon's mouth" and got nothing.

That's because everyone knows that Carly pissed into Taylor's mouth. However reluctantly. She's was doing everything to save that marriage, God knows why.

richlb said...

The best Birthday Song substitute. Friends of my parents used to lavish it on me every year, and now I use it regularly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udXaYGzgGuQ

Darrell said...

True rebels just sang the fucking song and didn't worry about the consequences. Freedom!

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Folk song?

Fen said...

These takedown tactics make me want to pirate music just to get even.

Recently a mother got threatened with legal action for posting a video to FB of her toddler dancing to a song on the radio.

damikesc said...

Will there be any money coming back to the people sued? Plenty of info showed that the copyright claim was bullshit for a while now.

Recently a mother got threatened with legal action for posting a video to FB of her toddler dancing to a song on the radio.

Yeah, I've gotten far less concerned about "piracy" then I once was. I want a candidate to simply shut down IP law and give EVERYTHING the same protection that a new drug patent gets. No excuse drugs get not much time while shit pop culture is protected indefinitely.

MadisonMan said...

I'm happy that I no longer have to send away a royalty check when I sing Happy Birthday to my kids in a public venue. That was a drag.

MadisonMan said...

The still of Carly looks like someone Photoshopped Farrah Fawcett hair onto the face of Bob Dylan.

Looks a lot more like Farrah hair on Andy Gibb, IMO.

Charlie Currie said...

I prefer redistribution to pirating...

DavidD said...

Where in that list is The Beatles' Birthday?!?!?