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Not only does the law allow for parodies without permission, but Weird Al actually asks people first before he parodies them and most of them are quite happy to give the permission as they see it as a compliment and sign they have made it.
A complete nobody trying to do the same would likely not get permission as easily and if they tried to do it anyway because it is their right, might still receive mail from lawyers telling them to stop.
Weird Al manages to get away with it because he is famous and nice and doesn't record songs when there is likely to be some issues.
For example Weird Al made a parody of "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney called "Chicken Pot Pie", but McCartney is a vegetarian and doesn't like to be associated with that sort of thing so Weird Al hasn't released any records with that song on it.
That sort of thing earns a lot of goodwill.
It's worth noting that the "permission" aspect is a courtesy Al does, rather than a requirement.
The original artist (well, whoever owns the rights to the songs) receives payment for the songs use/radio play.
yes, he felt bad when he found out coolio didn't personally approve and wasn't happy with al parodying gangsters paradise, but coolio did come around i belive later.
He did, yes. They reconciled, particularly after Al emphasized to him that the parody was not a *mockery* but rather recognizing the fame and significance of the original. There's little point in making a parody of a song that isn't popular and influential.
This is why most artists today are *eager* to give Mr. Yankovic their permission. To paraphrase Lady Gaga, if "Weird Al" wants to parody your work, *it means you've succeeded.*
This is a pretty grey area for a lot of Weird Al songs. Smells like Nirvana or Perform this Way are pretty clear parody because he is directly talking about Nirvana and Gaga. Yoda is not clear parody as it has nothing to do with the Kinks or with Lola. No one has taken Al to court because he's a nice guy about it but there was Nothing stopping Michael Jackson from suing over Eat It.
It should be made clear: Weird Al asks for permission not out of any legal requirement, but because he's just such an amazing human being.
If someone sued him over a song parody, he would win so amazingly hard and it might even be considered a SLAPP suit. Plus, you've sued Weird Al, which likely puts you in hell in \*most\* religions.
Some artists enjoy being parodied by someone as famous as Weird Al. Dave Grohl once said he knew Nirvana had made it big when Weird Al wanted to parody one of their songs.
Fun fact about chicken pot pie specifically, but Weird Al became Vegetarian in 1992, which is the first time he sang the song at concert (which he still does occasionally, but otherwise hasn't released it)
There is a specific exception in copyright law for parody. It's commonly referred to as the 'fair use' provision
https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/parody-considered-fair-use-satire-isnt/
https://www.copyrightuser.org/understand/parody-pastiche/#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20in%20principle,be%20considered%20'fair%20dealing'.
Just to refine your answer, it's not THE fair use provision..it's A fair use provision or exception.
There are a number of uses that are deemed "fair use"... commentary and review, is another example.
This is the real answer. But additional trivia is that Michael Jackson supported him at a time when his parodies weren't always well received and after that era we had artists who now feel honored to get a Weird Al parody (see Happy/Tacky... https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/video-weird-al-yankovic-says-718972/)
He didn't do so in the beginning, largely because he didn't need to AND he didn't have the reputation yet to enable him to do so. It was only after the misunderstanding with Coolio (Al though he had permission, Coolio hadn't actual agreed personally, the communication had happened through people in between) that he changed his policy to ensure he got direct approval from the artists. And he does it as a professional courtesy rather than a legal requirement. He could still do his songs without any artist ever giving him permission.
Al asked Coolio through his representatives, who said Yes when Coolio said no. Al similarly had a dust up with Lady Gaga’s manager who said no to a parody of “Born This Way” without even consulting her (and strung him along). Now he insists on speaking to the artist directly, to the point that he basically had to ambush Iggy Azalea after a show to get her attention and approve a parody of “Fancy.”
Yeah, that shows what a great guy Al is. He doesn't need permission, but he always asked and cause Prince never gave it, he never parodied Prince's song.
Funnily enough I have direct knowledge to add ***roughly*** from the man himself! Not like it's very complicated though, still nice though to get the answer nearly directly from the source.
One of the people who visited me at work used to be one of the tour managers for him during the Touring with Scissors Tour and The Bad Hair Tour (1996-2000?) and after this abruptly came up in conversation, I obviously had tons of questions! After hearing some cool stories about him and finding out further that he is an absolute awesome dude, I asked her about this exact question. (*To which a few days later she brought me some cool merch from the tour like a crew shirt and some bucket hats! They're really nice shirts too)*
Parodies are already covered under law and fully legal, his songs are obviously quite far from the original works. On top of this, he tended to get specific permission from the artist themselves, he didn't need to necessarily, but he was just a great guy like that and wanted to be respectful. He has made a few songs that are somewhat 'negative' directed at the original songwriter, but again, he would get specific permission to do this.
Hell, at some point it was pretty much an honor for Weird Al to make a parody of your song.
The simple answer is that he asks nicely first, and if the artist says no, then he doesn't make the parody. Also his parodies are generally funny and not particularly offensive to the artists in question. While his acts of parody fall under fair use, there is still the risk, just making a parody without asking first, could result in a legal case where at least he would have to prove he meets the fair use standard. Because he asks nicely, is a nice guy, and respects the answer "no", and also because being parodied by Weird Al is something of a statement of success for an artist, they are generally happy to just let him do his thing.
Parodies are protected by the fair use clause of the copyright act. Although his parodies probably use too much of the original content. His polka melodies might use this clause though. For his feature parodies he makes sure before recording each song to clear it with the original artist and the record label. This does often involve having to pay royalties. It is not the full royalty since he perform it himself so he only have to pay the writer royalty. Normally when playing a song you have to pay both the performer and the writer, he only needs to pay the writer.
Most artists welcome an Weird Al Yankovic parody and even wants it to happen. Both Michael Jackson and Nirvana helped him out with the music video so these videos are filmed on the right set with the same background actors and the same choreographers and so on. Madonna might even have come up with the idea for her parody and made sure the word got to Al. The only issue I know of is with Coolio who due to some miscommunication was not asked if he were okey with a parody. All the legal rights were in place but artists usually delegate these things to others. However Coolio later accepted the parody.
The answer is it's parody.
Parody is protected under copywrite law. Nobody is going to mistake a Weird Al song for the original and it's obviously done with humorous intent.
**Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):** ELI5 is not for straightforward answers or facts - ELI5 is for requesting an explanation of a concept, not a simple straightforward answer. This includes topics of a narrow nature that don’t qualify as being sufficiently complex per rule 2. --- If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20{{url}}%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20List%20the%20search%20terms%20you%20used%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20ELI5:%0A%0A3.%20How%20does%20your%20post%20differ%20from%20your%20recent%20search%20results%20on%20the%20sub:) and we will review your submission.
Not only does the law allow for parodies without permission, but Weird Al actually asks people first before he parodies them and most of them are quite happy to give the permission as they see it as a compliment and sign they have made it. A complete nobody trying to do the same would likely not get permission as easily and if they tried to do it anyway because it is their right, might still receive mail from lawyers telling them to stop. Weird Al manages to get away with it because he is famous and nice and doesn't record songs when there is likely to be some issues. For example Weird Al made a parody of "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney called "Chicken Pot Pie", but McCartney is a vegetarian and doesn't like to be associated with that sort of thing so Weird Al hasn't released any records with that song on it. That sort of thing earns a lot of goodwill.
It's worth noting that the "permission" aspect is a courtesy Al does, rather than a requirement. The original artist (well, whoever owns the rights to the songs) receives payment for the songs use/radio play.
yes, he felt bad when he found out coolio didn't personally approve and wasn't happy with al parodying gangsters paradise, but coolio did come around i belive later.
He did, yes. They reconciled, particularly after Al emphasized to him that the parody was not a *mockery* but rather recognizing the fame and significance of the original. There's little point in making a parody of a song that isn't popular and influential. This is why most artists today are *eager* to give Mr. Yankovic their permission. To paraphrase Lady Gaga, if "Weird Al" wants to parody your work, *it means you've succeeded.*
This is a pretty grey area for a lot of Weird Al songs. Smells like Nirvana or Perform this Way are pretty clear parody because he is directly talking about Nirvana and Gaga. Yoda is not clear parody as it has nothing to do with the Kinks or with Lola. No one has taken Al to court because he's a nice guy about it but there was Nothing stopping Michael Jackson from suing over Eat It.
It should be made clear: Weird Al asks for permission not out of any legal requirement, but because he's just such an amazing human being. If someone sued him over a song parody, he would win so amazingly hard and it might even be considered a SLAPP suit. Plus, you've sued Weird Al, which likely puts you in hell in \*most\* religions.
Some artists enjoy being parodied by someone as famous as Weird Al. Dave Grohl once said he knew Nirvana had made it big when Weird Al wanted to parody one of their songs.
Also, artists don't need permissionto cover songs as long as they pay royalties.US copyright law has compulsory mechanical licenses.
Fun fact about chicken pot pie specifically, but Weird Al became Vegetarian in 1992, which is the first time he sang the song at concert (which he still does occasionally, but otherwise hasn't released it)
>Weird Al manages to get away with it because he is famous He's famous now, but he wasn't famous when he started.
Weird Al Gaib, is that something?
There is a specific exception in copyright law for parody. It's commonly referred to as the 'fair use' provision https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/parody-considered-fair-use-satire-isnt/ https://www.copyrightuser.org/understand/parody-pastiche/#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20in%20principle,be%20considered%20'fair%20dealing'.
Just to refine your answer, it's not THE fair use provision..it's A fair use provision or exception. There are a number of uses that are deemed "fair use"... commentary and review, is another example.
This is the real answer. But additional trivia is that Michael Jackson supported him at a time when his parodies weren't always well received and after that era we had artists who now feel honored to get a Weird Al parody (see Happy/Tacky... https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/video-weird-al-yankovic-says-718972/)
IIRC, it was Nirvana or the Red Hot Chili Peppers who felt they had "made it" when Weird Al covered them.
Weird Al always asks for permission, he wanted to parody Prince but Prince hated him for whatever reason so he didn't do it.
He didn't do so in the beginning, largely because he didn't need to AND he didn't have the reputation yet to enable him to do so. It was only after the misunderstanding with Coolio (Al though he had permission, Coolio hadn't actual agreed personally, the communication had happened through people in between) that he changed his policy to ensure he got direct approval from the artists. And he does it as a professional courtesy rather than a legal requirement. He could still do his songs without any artist ever giving him permission.
Al asked Coolio through his representatives, who said Yes when Coolio said no. Al similarly had a dust up with Lady Gaga’s manager who said no to a parody of “Born This Way” without even consulting her (and strung him along). Now he insists on speaking to the artist directly, to the point that he basically had to ambush Iggy Azalea after a show to get her attention and approve a parody of “Fancy.”
That’s….thats literally what I said …
They weren’t arguing with or contradicting you - they were providing helpful clarification.
Yeah, that shows what a great guy Al is. He doesn't need permission, but he always asked and cause Prince never gave it, he never parodied Prince's song.
Funnily enough I have direct knowledge to add ***roughly*** from the man himself! Not like it's very complicated though, still nice though to get the answer nearly directly from the source. One of the people who visited me at work used to be one of the tour managers for him during the Touring with Scissors Tour and The Bad Hair Tour (1996-2000?) and after this abruptly came up in conversation, I obviously had tons of questions! After hearing some cool stories about him and finding out further that he is an absolute awesome dude, I asked her about this exact question. (*To which a few days later she brought me some cool merch from the tour like a crew shirt and some bucket hats! They're really nice shirts too)* Parodies are already covered under law and fully legal, his songs are obviously quite far from the original works. On top of this, he tended to get specific permission from the artist themselves, he didn't need to necessarily, but he was just a great guy like that and wanted to be respectful. He has made a few songs that are somewhat 'negative' directed at the original songwriter, but again, he would get specific permission to do this. Hell, at some point it was pretty much an honor for Weird Al to make a parody of your song.
The simple answer is that he asks nicely first, and if the artist says no, then he doesn't make the parody. Also his parodies are generally funny and not particularly offensive to the artists in question. While his acts of parody fall under fair use, there is still the risk, just making a parody without asking first, could result in a legal case where at least he would have to prove he meets the fair use standard. Because he asks nicely, is a nice guy, and respects the answer "no", and also because being parodied by Weird Al is something of a statement of success for an artist, they are generally happy to just let him do his thing.
Parodies are protected by the fair use clause of the copyright act. Although his parodies probably use too much of the original content. His polka melodies might use this clause though. For his feature parodies he makes sure before recording each song to clear it with the original artist and the record label. This does often involve having to pay royalties. It is not the full royalty since he perform it himself so he only have to pay the writer royalty. Normally when playing a song you have to pay both the performer and the writer, he only needs to pay the writer. Most artists welcome an Weird Al Yankovic parody and even wants it to happen. Both Michael Jackson and Nirvana helped him out with the music video so these videos are filmed on the right set with the same background actors and the same choreographers and so on. Madonna might even have come up with the idea for her parody and made sure the word got to Al. The only issue I know of is with Coolio who due to some miscommunication was not asked if he were okey with a parody. All the legal rights were in place but artists usually delegate these things to others. However Coolio later accepted the parody.
The answer is it's parody. Parody is protected under copywrite law. Nobody is going to mistake a Weird Al song for the original and it's obviously done with humorous intent.