I'm new to the list, and usually I would wait a bit and then delurk, but I
had to answer this.
Chris Fahey wrote:
quoted 9 lines In the US, at least,
>>> In the US, at least,
>>> it is not infringement to cover a song, even without the
>>> permission of the song's originator.
>
> Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the above statement
> absolutely 100% wrong?
>
> You can do a *parody*, but a cover is out of the question. You can't even
> sing Happy Birthday on TV without paying somebody.
Yes, you have to pay the composers when you do a cover, but no one can stop
you from doing one. _However_, you cannot make any major changes to the song
without getting the original writer's permission (although this seems to
apply more lyrically than musically), hence you can't do a parody version
without clearing the changes. For instance, The Bangles managed to stop
'Walk With an Erection' because no one had checked with them, whereas they
couldn't have done anything about someone doing a note-for-note rendition of
'Walk Like an Egyptian' as long as composers credit was given and
appropriate royalties were paid.
--
JohnT/CountV
"Cunnilingus and psychiatry brought us to this." - Tony Soprano
Design by Coercion - New Years update, with image manipulation section;
http://www.m-ideas.com/coercion/index.htm
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