That is hilarious. Not so funny for the dear old chaps of Men at Work is that earlier this year, though.
They were hauled into the Federal Court for copyright infringement. The flute melody borrows substantially from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gumtree, an Australian standard. Or so the judge declared. Damages are yet to be awarded.
There are two peculiar elements to this.
Firstly, the company that sued, Larrikin Music, has a long history of being on the side of the angels. But was recently bought out by Music Sales, a multinational publishing company. Larrikin are calling for 40-60 % of royalties. And as the album was a US #1, it’s likely to be a lot of dosh.
The other is that the similarity of the two tunes was only brought to light on a musical quiz show, Spicks and Specks, on national public television.
As for the commercial fortunes of Nebraska, well, I doubt the television advertisement made a whole lot of difference.
Yeah, I feel sorry for Collin Hay. Tha’s a lot of $$$ he’s probably not going to see / and or have to pay back. Probably his retirement fund. I have fond High School memories of Men At Work.
Not trying to go all “pince nez” on ya’ll (sorry, but this newbie’s been dying to use that clever Townerlogism), but I recognized the Kookaburra quotation immediately back when. (My wife used to teach it as a round to her music classes. Try it sometime, it’s fun.) As I just assumed it was some kind of Aussie folk tune or something, and therefore in the public domain, I’m shocked that MAW are being mauled in this way. Maybe I shouldn’t be, as the great corporate maw must always be stuffed. BTW, mikeydread, nice blog, and thanks for the headsup. Glad you got your ‘puter back.
That is hilarious. Not so funny for the dear old chaps of Men at Work is that earlier this year, though.
They were hauled into the Federal Court for copyright infringement. The flute melody borrows substantially from Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gumtree, an Australian standard. Or so the judge declared. Damages are yet to be awarded.
There are two peculiar elements to this.
Firstly, the company that sued, Larrikin Music, has a long history of being on the side of the angels. But was recently bought out by Music Sales, a multinational publishing company. Larrikin are calling for 40-60 % of royalties. And as the album was a US #1, it’s likely to be a lot of dosh.
The other is that the similarity of the two tunes was only brought to light on a musical quiz show, Spicks and Specks, on national public television.
As for the commercial fortunes of Nebraska, well, I doubt the television advertisement made a whole lot of difference.
Yeah, I feel sorry for Collin Hay. Tha’s a lot of $$$ he’s probably not going to see / and or have to pay back. Probably his retirement fund. I have fond High School memories of Men At Work.
Not trying to go all “pince nez” on ya’ll (sorry, but this newbie’s been dying to use that clever Townerlogism), but I recognized the Kookaburra quotation immediately back when. (My wife used to teach it as a round to her music classes. Try it sometime, it’s fun.) As I just assumed it was some kind of Aussie folk tune or something, and therefore in the public domain, I’m shocked that MAW are being mauled in this way. Maybe I shouldn’t be, as the great corporate maw must always be stuffed. BTW, mikeydread, nice blog, and thanks for the headsup. Glad you got your ‘puter back.
Since when is Atlantic City in the heartland?
I like Colin Hay as a writer and MAW have some really good tunes. This makes me a little sad. GREAT commercial, though. Welcome aboard, pplist.
TB