World of Weird Al Yankovic

Would you know (or even have any idea) whose permission was obtained for "Bohemian Polka"? While my first guess would be the surviving members of Queen, I don't know for sure who inherited the rights to songs where Freddie Mercury is the only credited writer.

(The "Bohemian Polka" thread doesn't mention this, and I submitted this to Ask Al many moons ago but didn't get a response.)

Permission isn't normally necessary if simply doing a cover and changing the arrangement, which is where polkafying the song fits. I don't imagine anyone was asked in this case.

Bermuda

This is something I've never been 100% clear on. I know Al asks permission of the artist before doing a parody of their song, even though he doesn't LEGALLY have to, but was never sure if he sought permission to include a snippet of an artist's song in a polka. I know the polka targets are always listed in the "Special Thanks" section of the liner notes, so I kind of just assumed permission was asked. Also, I remember hearing how Weezer gave permission to use "Buddy Holly" in The Alternative Polka and rescinded at the last minute...but then I've also heard that permission isn't strictly necessary, as in the above. Would you be able to clarify how the process works a bit further?

PS: Sorry for all the follow-up questions, but this is strangely fascinating to me...and thanks for taking the time to answer all the questions you've been asked!

Al has to ask for permission based on how the royalties would work. I believe he said they have to negotiate what percentage of the polka each song is and base royalties off of that. Id imagine Bohemian Polka is different because its one song. Surprising that Al would skip permission based on his own rule

minnick27 wrote:Al has to ask for permission based on how the royalties would work. I believe he said they have to negotiate what percentage of the polka each song is and base royalties off of that. Id imagine Bohemian Polka is different because its one song. Surprising that Al would skip permission based on his own rule

Skipping permission (because not necessary) doesn't mean skipping ROYALTY PAYMENTS. In fact, whoever held the royalty rights to the song would have received full royalties, to both the tune and the lyric, unlike the parodies, for which Al and the original artist split royalties (lyric royalties to Al, music royalties to original artist).

Orthography Enthusiast wrote:

minnick27 wrote:Al has to ask for permission based on how the royalties would work. I believe he said they have to negotiate what percentage of the polka each song is and base royalties off of that. Id imagine Bohemian Polka is different because its one song. Surprising that Al would skip permission based on his own rule

Skipping permission (because not necessary) doesn't mean skipping ROYALTY PAYMENTS. In fact, whoever held the royalty rights to the song would have received full royalties, to both the tune and the lyric, unlike the parodies, for which Al and the original artist split royalties (lyric royalties to Al, music royalties to original artist).

Correct, and because the Bohemian Polka was simply an arrangement change - no new lyrics from Al - permission shouldn't have been necessary.

With regard to thanking artists/writers, that isn't done in lieu of asking permission or negotiating a rate, it's just a thanks for their cooperation.

Bermuda

Orthography Enthusiast wrote:

Skipping permission (because not necessary) doesn't mean skipping ROYALTY PAYMENTS. In fact, whoever held the royalty rights to the song would have received full royalties, to both the tune and the lyric, unlike the parodies, for which Al and the original artist split royalties (lyric royalties to Al, music royalties to original artist).

I didnt mean to imply he would skip payments, i only meant he didnt have to negotiate percentage like he normally does. Meaning artist a is 10%, artist b is 4% artist c is 8% and so on. This would 100% be one artist.

bermuda wrote:Bohemian Polka was simply an arrangement change - no new lyrics from Al

Well, he did add the word "hey!"...

Well this is certaintly interesting because Harry Fox says new arrangements need permission as they are derivative works. Harryfox even gave examples such as changing the style which I would think polka would be a style change.