World of Weird Al Yankovic

Al always claims it to be a "gray area" and says that the Court usually goes with the parody artist, so he probably COULD get away with it, but wants to make sure that the original artist is okay with it.

The polkas on the other hand, he DOES have to get permission and pay royalties...

I'm pretty sure, but don't blame me if you don't ask and get sued

If you are using someone elses music without paying them, they can sue you. The best thing for you to do is to contact a lawyer that specializes in the music industry. Granted you will have to pay him, but a small consultation fee is better than paying a lawyer when you get sued. Ignorance is not bliss in the eyes of the law.

I believe you DO have to pay royalties on the music if you're selling it for profit.

See, this is where the problem lies. I've tried contacting the record label, original artist, etc. and to no avail. They are ignoring me. Should I take this as a sign that they don't really care ... or what?

I would say you're safe. I haven't heard of any parody artists getting sued...yet.

So, my bands song, should we upload it onto iTunes and just pray?

I have a feeling that the original author won't really care about 10-20 bucks.

Yes. My band does parodies and we sell them on iTunes, as do countless others. No one's ever been sued over it.

Now that I remember, the only time you have to pay royalties is if you are covering a song. I know it's in CD Baby's agreement forms.

But isn't a parody considered covering the TUNE?

I'm pretty sure if you change the words its okay...

Just so long as you SAY its a parody, if you take the music without giving the original artist credit, thats bad, I think...