File puptcrit/puptcrit.0611, message 223


From: mjm <mmoynihan-AT-wi.rr.com>
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:30:41 -0600
To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] Weird Al Parodies


On Nov 14, 2006, at 9:07 PM, Andrew wrote:
> Actually, from what I understand Weird Al always obtains permissions 
> both as a courtesy to the artist and also to avoid any potential 
> lawsuits, even unjustified ones.
> Still, your point is a very good one.

Al has acknowledged that legally he does not require permission, but 
obtains it anyway, I stand corrected. I was mistaken to use Al as an 
example. Coolio objected after the fact. I was under the impression 
that Michael Jackson had withheld permission (but it was both Paul 
McCartney and Prince/the artist formerly known as...:

from NPR June 13, 2006
"Weird Al" Yankovic, the king of pop parody, has a brand-new song out, 
available for free on his Web site. Music Producer and Song of the Day 
Editor Stephen Thompson gives us the scoop:

"In a career spanning more than 25 years, pop-music parodist "Weird Al" 
Yankovic hasn't exactly ranked among the music business' fiercest 
iconoclasts: He doesn't release his song parodies without the consent 
of the artists being parodied, and he's rarely used the Internet as 
more than a tool to promote his projects and connect with his fans. But 
a music label's efforts to block a (relatively tame) parody of James 
Blunt's ubiquitous hit "You're Beautiful" has Yankovic fighting back 
publicly, and using his Web site as a tool to do so.

According to Yankovic, Blunt himself gave his blessing to a song called 
"You're Pitiful" (audio), which was to appear on Yankovic's 
now-finished but as-yet-unreleased new album. But after Yankovic 
finished recording the parody, Atlantic Records, Blunt's label, told 
Yankovic that he couldn't release "You're Pitiful." Though Yankovic has 
encountered resistance from artists before -- after a miscommunication 
involving permissions, Coolio publicly objected to a released parody of 
"Gangsta's Paradise," while Prince has always turned down Yankovic's 
requests to parody his hits -- he says this is the first time a label 
has stepped in to squash the release of one of his parodies. (Quoth an 
Atlantic representative: "We have no comment on this matter.")

So how, exactly, does a music label have a say in whether one of its 
artists can be parodied?

"The legality in this case is somewhat moot," Yankovic writes when 
contacted via e-mail. "James Blunt could still let me put it on my 
album if he really wanted to, but he obviously doesn't want to alienate 
his own record company... and my label could release the parody without 
Atlantic's blessing, but they don't really want to go to war with 
another label over this. So really, it's more of a political matter 
than a legal matter."

Of course, it's not hard to circulate a song these days, and Yankovic 
has helped that process along by making an MP3 of the track available 
for free download on his Web site. It may not appear on Yankovic's new 
album, but "You're Pitiful" will still swirl around in cyberspace long 
after Blunt's original recedes from memory.

"I have a long-standing history of respecting artists' wishes," 
Yankovic writes. "So if James Blunt himself were objecting, I wouldn't 
even offer my parody for free on my Web site. But since it's a bunch of 
suits -- who are actually going against their own artist's wishes -- I 
have absolutely no problem with it."

http://media.thechrispirilloshow.com/mp3/yourepitiful.mp3




_______________________________________________
List address: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/puptcrit-driftline.org
Archives: http://www.driftline.org

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005