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Aren't his songs owned by a label? Did he really keep all the rights, so he was able to do what the text above says? If not, do we know which subset of his wor
by weinzierl 1y ago
Aren't his songs owned by a label?
Did he really keep all the rights, so he was able to do what the text above says?
If not, do we know which subset of his work is free?
EDIT:
His Wikipedia page lists the following labels:
- TransRadio
- Lehrer
- Reprise/Warner Bros.
- Rhino/Atlantic
- Shout! Factory
- Needlejuice Records
His sheet music was published by Crown Publishers Inc.
His public domain dedication is a noble gesture, but legally it probably doesn't mean much.
- SoftTalker 1y agoSounds like maybe he self-published: "All such rights are now released herewith and therefore do not require any permission from me or from Maelstrom Music, which is merely me in another hat"
- justin66 1y agoHis work was self-published.
- AStonesThrow 1y ago[dead]
- walterbell 1y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24833683#24834514 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24833683#24834514 > As a souvenir for [his graduate student friends], Lehrer decided in 1953 to make a record of the songs he had written at Harvard. He recorded Songs by Tom Lehrer in one session at Trans Radio studios in Boston on a 10-inch LP.. bought the rights to the record from Trans Radio, and began selling it by mail order.. By 1954.. he had sold 10,000 records.. By the end of the decade, he had sold 370,000 records.
- smugma 1y agoSongs are never owned by labels, only recordings. The songs aka compositions/lyrics may be controlled by publishers
- weinzierl 1y agoThis is only true for pure administration deals which are extremely rare. The usual co-publishing deals, as well as full publishing and 360 deals give up some ownership of the songs.