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Does Weird Al pay rights? I know he asks for permission to maintain his relationships with artists and to make sure he gets his share of songwriting credits (an

by hluska 2y ago

Does Weird Al pay rights? I know he asks for permission to maintain his relationships with artists and to make sure he gets his share of songwriting credits (and the fees). But does he pay for rights? I’ve never seen that before and I’d love to read more.

jprd 2y ago
IANAL - but I think there is some sort of carve-out for parody? @sama and OpenAI are clearly not parodying "Her" - especially with that paper trail. This is a great question and I hope someone here with requisite knowledge can help.
- hluska 2y ago
  My understanding is he doesn’t have to ask permission but does for two purposes. It’s important to him to keep good relationships with artists, and he wants to make sure that he gets songwriting credits because those are paid differently (and are often more lucrative) than royalties from recordings. I’d love to find out if he directly pays artists for rights. That would be really interesting and would add a whole dimension to his problems with Prince.
klyrs 2y ago
Actually, yes, he does. https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/ https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/
- hluska 2y ago
  That says he asks for permission. His new song would generate songwriter credits and they’re paid out totally differently from regular royalties. Is that what you mean by him paying for rights?
  - klyrs 2y ago
    Rereading your comment, I see that my answer rather falls short of your question. I don't claim to know anything about Weird Al beyond what he wrote on that page.
    - hluska 2y ago
      Honestly pal, I really appreciate you trying! I’m one of very few people strange enough to care about the minutiae of this. I’m grateful that you jumped into my weird rabbit hole with me for awhile. It was kind of you to try to help me.
Lerc 2y ago
Now you've got me doubting myself. It was covered in a Tom Scott video. I'll have a look for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jwo5qc78QU&t=485s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jwo5qc78QU&t=485s

by hluska 2y ago

jprd 2y ago

IANAL - but I think there is some sort of carve-out for parody? @sama and OpenAI are clearly not parodying "Her" - especially with that paper trail. This is a great question and I hope someone here with requisite knowledge can help.

hluska 2y ago
My understanding is he doesn’t have to ask permission but does for two purposes. It’s important to him to keep good relationships with artists, and he wants to make sure that he gets songwriting credits because those are paid differently (and are often more lucrative) than royalties from recordings. I’d love to find out if he directly pays artists for rights. That would be really interesting and would add a whole dimension to his problems with Prince.

klyrs 2y ago

Actually, yes, he does. https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/ https://www.weirdal.com/archives/faq/

hluska 2y ago
That says he asks for permission. His new song would generate songwriter credits and they’re paid out totally differently from regular royalties. Is that what you mean by him paying for rights?
- klyrs 2y ago
  Rereading your comment, I see that my answer rather falls short of your question. I don't claim to know anything about Weird Al beyond what he wrote on that page.
  - hluska 2y ago
    Honestly pal, I really appreciate you trying! I’m one of very few people strange enough to care about the minutiae of this. I’m grateful that you jumped into my weird rabbit hole with me for awhile. It was kind of you to try to help me.

Lerc 2y ago

Now you've got me doubting myself. It was covered in a Tom Scott video. I'll have a look for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jwo5qc78QU&t=485s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jwo5qc78QU&t=485s