Members workstation M.I Posted April 20, 2015 Members Share Posted April 20, 2015 If you overwrite a song with new words or, heck, are just replacing one word, is the licensing fee going to be the same as if you were using the song in its original form?I'm currently in the middle of a commercial pitch and my idea is just to replace one word, because that's all that's needed. However, I've also had some ideas where the lyrics get mostly or completely replaced and I just need to know the pricing scale for differing versions/alterations. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted April 21, 2015 Members Share Posted April 21, 2015 We've omitted stanzas and the licensing fee was the same, so I would think it would be the same for simply altering one word, but I don't know this for a fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted April 21, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 A parody is allowed under "fair use" but I doubt that changing just one word would be considered a parody by any court, particularly if it was for commercial purposes. You'd better get permission to change the word and pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted April 21, 2015 Members Share Posted April 21, 2015 FWIW, I've done cover versions of songs and changed words so I would be more comfortable singing the lyrics. It's still someone else's song. As a matter of courtesy, I do let the songwriter know that I made changes. I'm not sure what the situation would be if you come up with entirely new words but kept the music the same, particularly if it was a collaboration between a lyricist and musician. But if you do an instrumental version of a song, you still need to pay licensing so I doubt the situation would be any different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted April 22, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted April 22, 2015 Weird Al always pays royalties for the original song. He changes all the words, but keeps the melody and keeps close to the original instrumentation and arrangement when he creates a parody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members workstation M.I Posted April 23, 2015 Author Members Share Posted April 23, 2015 Oh yeah, licensing is definitely a part of this and my potential client wouldn't want to be involved in any rip-offs of intellectual property.Another question. Are some songs more valued than others, just because of their popularity or chart position, and therefore get charged more? Example: When Bill Gates famously used START ME UP in the commercial for Windows 95, did he still get charged a premium for a 14 year old ( but still timeless) song? Did the record company charge him more for who he was, or did he get treated like any other client? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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