So who actually owns the tune to something like “A hard rain’s gonna fall”? Does Universal own the tune to the chorus and the rest is public domain?
The Weather Channel?
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Excerpts:
For one thing, selling your publishing rights or your master recordings is commonplace among artists of a certain stature…everyone from Elton John to Stevie Nicks has done it. [It’s] a move very much in keeping with Dylan’s sharp business sense. The fact that he’s ceded control of how the songs are used might cause a certain kind of Dylan nut palpitations. But, in fairness, it’s hard to see how his catalogue’s new owners might exploit his songs in a way that the man himself hasn’t already done in recent years.
As to what I think: He’s coming up fast on 80. He has two ex-wives and six kids. It’s well known that he’s very spiritual and sees his music – his creations – in that way. I have no idea as to what his personal life is like… but perhaps this selloff cuts off any chance of major infighting amongst his surviving family once he’s gone. Let them fight for all the remaining assets… but as to his music? No way.
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So they fight over the $300 million instead?
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Guys without much of a future left can only monetize future receipts by selling the rights and letting somebody else, who will still be around, wait for the money to come in
SEE ALSO: George Lucas
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I blame myself for not making it clearer. I think he doesn’t want them fighting over his music.
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Rainy Day Women #12 and 35
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If they can trace the tune back to a public domain source, they should be able to use it gratis, although having access to high powered lawyers still might be handy.
Why the distinction between chorus and verses though? Is this referring to traditional ballad “Lord Randall”? AHRGF derives its Q&A structure from LR, but the tunes are reasonably distinct, based on the versions I’ve heard.
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Today I learned… not just that the song is a lot older, but that some things never change.
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Would’ve been interesting to see him do as Tom Lehrer did and put a bunch of stuff into public domain.
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Interesting, I always heard the question part as note for note being Lord Randall. It’s hard to make anything out of the answer part as they are so extended and weird.
By the current standards of music copyright where Robin Thicke “plagiarized” Marvin Gaye just because he “sounds a little like” him then the case is pretty solid.
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Uh, you’re saying that sounds like Dylan’s song? He definitely did not put that much range into the chorus. The rhythm of the syllables is a good match, but that’s a markedly different tune.
To be fair, there may very well be versions of “Lord Randall” that match his tune quite well. Especially if they were recorded post Dylan.
I fancy this rendition:
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To be honest, my encounters with Lord Randall have mostly been in jams which were all post-Dylan. It’s kind of shocking that my sense of the tune of an actual Child Ballad has been that thrown off by a modern related-ish song.
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Bear in mind that the original Child Ballad collection only contained musical notation for some of the songs, and that was as a seeming afterthought in the final volume. I imagine the melodies have done quite a bit of evolving over the years. (Although I suspect the tunes were often “standardized” by the ‘60s.)
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Ha! Seriously.
He had a stock. He sold the total stock.He sold out.
You never worked in retail?
That was an incredible and existentialy horrifying read I may never overcome if I truly internalize the gravity of the event.
Its a really long read- but was worth every minute of my time.
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His net worth prior to this was $200 million. He is now worth half a billion.
To paraphrase “Entrapment”, What can you do with 500 million dollars that you can’t do with 200?
Some thoughts:
Fund infrastructure projects in the developing world.
Buy a mega-yacht
Fund AOC’s 2024 Presidential run
Switch to John McAfee’s sordid lifestyle
I think how we should view this development should be based on what he actually does with that money.
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I look forward to the fashion ads featuring Leopardskin Pillbox Hat.
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