By Spencer Michlin, KERA 90.1 commentator
Dallas, TX – The current issue of Time contains a fascinating piece on Internet piracy, one that - among other things - illustrates how thoroughly the term "intellectual property" has permeated the national vocabulary. The phrase, formerly the coin of show biz lawyers, is now as widely used as the technology that permits its theft - but I sometimes wonder how well the public understands that intellectual property is, in fact, property. It's as ownable as a house, a car, a bank account or securities, but it's often much easier to steal. It's hardly just Napster, which in fairness came down to individuals exchanging individual songs in almost the same spirit that friends do. Still, I salute Apple for its new music service that pays royalties to the creators.
At this point in this public radio commentary, a confession is in order: I often listen to commercial radio. As someone who for many years made his living writing radio spots, especially jingles, I listen as much for those as I do the music or sports talk surrounding them. My background has made me sensitive to a much less ambiguous kind of theft: businesses ripping off songs for use in their radio and TV advertising. I'm not talking here about national advertisers who pay handsomely to use hit songs, but about local advertisers who either are ignorant of the actionable nature of their deeds (or claim to be) or who simply think that they can get away with it.
In the last few months, this practice has been a virtual contagion among local Honda dealers. Besides the long-running, unauthorized version of "Help Me, Rhonda" for Lute Riley Honda, "Hey, Bo Diddley/I Want Candy" has been appropriated by Vandergriff Honda and "The Ballad Of Davey Crockett," of all things, by Rusty Wallis Honda. Among many examples in other categories, ABC Lawn and Pest Control has been using the venerable song "Manana" instrumentally. In the instances mentioned here, I checked with the publishers of these songs and not one of these advertisers has a license to use this music. Not surprisingly, all denied that they were actually using the song in question, but two of them changed their advertising almost the minute the issue was raised.
In the case of Lute Riley Honda, I followed a twisting trail of current advertising manager, the dealership's former general manager, current advertising agency, former advertising agency that created the jingle, and finally, the Kentucky musician who produced it. All but the current ad manager, who wouldn't talk to me, agreed that they were basically ripping off "Help Me, Rhonda," although some sincerely seemed to believe that enough of the song had been changed to avoid copyright infringement. It's way too complicated to go into here, but copyright law basically comes down to a matter of common sense - if a jingle sounds enough like the song it's based on to confuse the public, which is the whole point, it's infringement. Changing it a little doesn't help.
It's one thing to make a copy of a song that you want a friend to hear, and something totally different to rip it off to help sell your goods and services. It's hard to write a hit pop song, trust me. After a lifetime of trying, I consider myself lucky that my name is on precisely two - both of them bigger in foreign countries than here. Successful songwriters have truly earned their royalties and, in any case, property is property. The weird thing is that, since advertising is meant to be seen and heard, few thefts are carried out so publicly.
Spencer Michlin is a writer from Dallas.