[Dixielandjazz] Singing Happy Birthday is a No-No - Was Who is BMI

[Steve Barbone]

Did you know Happy Birthday is copyrighted and the copyright is currently
owned and actively enforced by Time Warner?

Did you know that if you sing any copyrighted song:
...at a place open to the public
...or among a substantial number of people who are not family or friends
You are involved in a public performance of that work?
You can hum and/or play Happy Birthday without infringing on a copyright
because the melody is in the public domain. But if you sing it, beware. Note
that the lyrics were copyrighted in 1935, are now owned by Time Warner, and
the copyright is vigorously enforced by ASCAP. The lyrics generate $2
million dollars a year for Time Warner. NONE OF THAT GOES TO JESSICA HILL
one of the original family members who authored the tune and then
copyrighted the lyrics.

The reason the copyright laws on music are "extended" frequently is because
"money talks", the big boys have the money, and they contribute some of it
to political action committees of politicians hoping to be reelected. Then,
when the copyrights are about to run out, they get a "favor" from the
politicians they now own.

In simpler times, we'd call it bribery. Net result? We are being repeatedly
screwed by the corporate greed inherent in the music business.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


The melody for Happy Birthday was first penned by two sisters from Kentucky,
Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill. The song was called Good Morning to
All, but bore the recognizable melody. The tune was first published in 1893
in the book Song Stories for the Kindergarten. The melody has since passed
into the public domain, and is safe to hum in public without permission.

While it is not entirely clear who first wrote down the words for Happy
Birthday, it showed up in a few places before Jessica Hill (another Hill
sister) was able to demonstrate undeniable similarities between Good Morning
to All and Happy Birthday and to secure the copyright to the song.

Working with the Clayton F. Summy Publishing Company, Jessica Hill published
and copyrighted Happy Birthday in 1935. While the copyright should have
expired in 1991, copyright has been extended repeatedly over the last
quarter of the twentieth century and the copyright for Happy Birthday is now
not due to expire until at least 2030.

The Clayton F. Summy Company is no longer independent, but, through a chain
of purchases, the copyright for Happy Birthday To You lies securely in the
hands of the Time Warner company. Happy Birthday's copyright is licensed and
enforced by ASCAP, and the simple little ditty brings in more than USD $2
million in annual royalties.