music rights

[a tree of night]

Some of the recent threads about lyrics got me curious about music rights. Is there a point where music becomes unrecognizable or significantly changed enough that it is considered a separate entity from the original? For example, if I have a character playing a few notes of the bass line from Born Under a Bad Sign, off-key, on an out-of-tune pennywhistle, do I owe somebody money or just an apology?

[RainbowDragon]

I think the Spin Doctors sued a company for a commercial that had music that sounded a lot like their "Two Princes" song (and won). . .as a writer it's not your problem though. That's the producer's headache. . .if it needs to be rewritten to save money, they should let you know.

[kitt]

I have a character that sings a few lines from a Billy Joel song. Is that going to be a determining factor on whether my screenplay gets passed or not?

[clockwork]

Tom Waits is pretty up on his litigation, inlcuding bringing action against people who created their own Waits-inspired music when Waits himself turned down their requests for use of his original work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_waits#Lawsuits

I have a character that sings a few lines from a Billy Joel song. Is that going to be a determining factor on whether my screenplay gets passed or not?

I don't think you'll have a problem kitt as long as you don't hinge the story on that song. I would tolerate something like you mentioned because as a reader I'd know that at this stage there's a greater than good chance that if the script was picked up for development, the plot may change quite dramatically through the rewrite process and it's entirely possible that the scene with the Billy Joel song may not even make it to the final draft. If it does, I'd worry about it then.

Having said that, it really would be worth your while trying to find your own words to express what this character is feeling/doing.

[Goodwriterguy]

Some of the recent threads about lyrics got me curious about music rights. Is there a point where music becomes unrecognizable or significantly changed enough that it is considered a separate entity from the original? For example, if I have a character playing a few notes of the bass line from Born Under a Bad Sign, off-key, on an out-of-tune pennywhistle, do I owe somebody money or just an apology?
Maybe one, maybe the other, maybe neither, depends.

Depends on the greed, anger, fear, and loathing or generosity of the person or entity who owns the copyright on the song, in other words, how big a financial threat does your reference pose to them?

If they knew about it in advance (not likely) they might approach your producer and say look, pal, you wanna sing those few lines in your flick you gotta pay, we own 'em. Pay what? $2,500? A producer might just fork it over to get rid of the nuisance, or, if they're tight on cash, they'll hand it to their lawyers and let the lawyers battle it out.

Ya just never know with these kinds of things. Your producer might call the copyright holder and twist their arm a little for a freebie. Or he might take the stance that his use doesn't constitute an infringement and tell the guy "I'll see you in court." Maybe the copyright holder won't see it as a big loss and choose to enjoy its promotional value.

But if you think it helps "make" your movie or an important scene in it leave it in and your producer will tend to it one way or another.

[a tree of night]

Thanks for the replies. I was really more curious than having anything concrete in mind. Like most things, I guess it just comes down to the people involved.