Ars Technica: Filmmakers and TV producers have long been harassed by Warner/Chappell Music, a subsidiary of Time Warner that enforces the copyright on "Happy Birthday," probably the most popular song in the world. If that song pops up in any TV show or movie, the creators are sure to get a hefty bill. The makers of the critically acclaimed 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams had to pay $5,000 for a scene of one of the protagonists' families singing the song. By 1996, Warner/Chappell was pulling in more than $2 million per year from licensing.
1 comment:
Until now, I had no idea whatsoever that "Happy Birthday" was copyrighted. How is it that something so integral to our culture can have a price tag associated? It's also kind of interesting to think about all the little things that a company would have to pay for in order to include them in a production. One has to balance the realism that such things create against the price that they add. Then, of course, there's the flip side of this particular coin: product placement. Watching a movie to look for this sort of thing is a totally different experience.
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