So lets say I'm living in a gutter cause I can't get a job because of my skin colour (blue).
I write the words and music of a song I just created. I can't sing 'cause I'm deaf and dumb.
A passer by who happens to be a singer copies it down and goes straight to a studio and records it. The next week it's released on CD and goes straight to the top of the charts all over the world.
Now I begin to see an hear (even though I'm deaf..lol) most of the passers by singing it and dancing to it, I see the "singer" pass by in a stretch Limo but he ignores me.
I'm feeling really hungry now since I haven't had anything to eat for days. I ask some of these people who are singing and dancing to my song for some food or money to buy some, but they say get lost you blue piece of sh*t and so I die of starvation.
What do you think of that story. It might sound unlikely but I'm sure that similar stories happen all the time.
What could the blue man have done differently so he could at least get some compensation for adding so much happiness to the World by creating this song?
so you think you should be compensated for people knowing words that you knew first? If I sing happy birthday dear whoever should I have to compensate the creator if he demanded it?
No one's going to charge you or anyone else for singing any song. But if you use the song for commercial gain the copyright holder of the song can demand a share of the profits you derive from it.
Thats horrible so if I sing happy birthday to someone for money or any song I should I have to give the guy who thought of it money? the words are not the valuable thing the person who says those words in a certain way makes it have value.
Song copyright used to be limited to 50 or 70 years (I think). So Happy Birthday should now be public property but as far as I know in the US that were discussing extending it to indefinitely. I don't if they passed a law or not.
I wouldn't agree with that law (even though I'm a song writer) but think it should be reduced to say 5 or at most ten years.
Copyright is not meant to stop singing or playing songs at parties, clubs etc. but mainly to stop big players like record companies, music publishers and other large corporations like radio and TV stations, film studios etc. from taking peoples songs and making millions on them and not paying the writers anything.
On your second point about the words I agree 100%