Weird Al Wired

I don't watch commercial TV so I haven't seen the ad. I imagine that it is funny.

I have recently wondered how Radio Shack stays in biz. Many years ago they had a place in the electronic world as they sold parts for electronic enthusiasts to build their own gizmos such as HAM radios and stereos, etc. Those days are long gone in this hi tech digital age.
 
That was shot at the end of October and has been on YouTube for some reason, glad to see it's on regular TV now. I advised him to get paid up front, and not in Radio Shack stock! (which has now dropped to 50¢)

Bermuda
 
I don't know.

Given Radio Shack is on the verge of going under, I'm not sure it's a good thing to be associated with these days. lol
 
I think its cool.

Would be nice to see Al as RS' new spokesperson.

Al and his act have become iconic, part of Americana born out of the campiness of the 60's IMO.
 
bermuda said:
That was shot at the end of October and has been on YouTube for some reason, glad to see it's on regular TV now. I advised him to get paid up front, and not in Radio Shack stock! (which has now dropped to 50¢)

Bermuda
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+1....Radio Shack is not doing so well these days,so maybe choosing Wierd Al as a rep,may reinvigorate the brand.....as being ..cool,fun and hip.

But as long as the check clears Bermuda,it's all good.

Steve B
 
Al/the band could parody the commercial if Radio Shack finally closes its doors.
 
Speaking of parodies. What exactly constitutes a parody? Can it be simply changing the lyrics to reflect even a political or personal opinion of something. Say like the song "All that Bass" rewritten to show corporate, political or even union management greed?
 
kristy said:
Speaking of parodies. What exactly constitutes a parody? Can it be simply changing the lyrics to reflect even a political or personal opinion of something. Say like the song "All that Bass" rewritten to show corporate, political or even union management greed?
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Pretty much anything that imitates an original work is a parody. While parody is protected speech, copyright law governs the terms under just how much you can derive from a work and still remain unencumbered in its distribution. Even if your parody follows all the rules, nothing prevents the originator of the work from suing you (copyright violation is a civil tort).

Wikipedia has a fair explanation, and the copyright/derivative encumbrance differs from one jurisdiction to another.

WA covers his bases pretty cleanly, obtaining permission, crediting works, and distributing royalties as negotiated. He's too high profile to do it any other way. Bermuda can probably go into detail on how WA goes about it.
 
Essentially, the parody itself may be regarded as fair use, but the instant you try to sell the new work, the writer(s) of the original song have to be compensated. The permission process helps establish the percentage that each party is entitled to, and it's smart to sort that out up front.

Bermuda
 
We have not even thought about selling the "all about the cash", although besides thought of doing a video(thwarted by fact I can not sing and at this point can only do a basic beat on drums). There have been no thoughts about selling the new work. Would uploading a video on youtube(or other website) be considered as selling the work-even if no money is made on said video or song?
 
kristy said:
Would uploading a video on youtube(or other website) be considered as selling the work-even if no money is made on said video or song?
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Hard to say, it's likely that YouTube/Google is deriving revenue, however small the amount.
 
bermuda said:
Hard to say, it's likely that YouTube/Google is deriving revenue, however small the amount.
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Indeed. Copyright covers copying and distribution. It doesn't matter if the work is sold or not. If the copyright holder can prove distribution and/or actual damages, they can sue. Hell, they can sue even if they can't. They'll lose, but you'll end up being out the cost of a lawyer.

Copyright is a strange and unintuitive government granted temporary monopoly. While the core concepts are nobel and easy to grasp, there's been so many (bad) amendments to it that only a copyright lawyer can make sense of it.

Couple that with the fact that it changes over time and across jurisdiction, you can get sued in the US, distribute freely in China, go to jail in Qatar., and be forced to play the knife game in Honduras.

Note that you can parody a band without using their material.. A good example would be the "Fountains of Wayne Hotline"
 
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bermuda said:
Essentially, the parody itself may be regarded as fair use, but the instant you try to sell the new work, the writer(s) of the original song have to be compensated. The permission process helps establish the percentage that each party is entitled to, and it's smart to sort that out up front.

Bermuda
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I was told that royalties for parodies of songs were not required as there has to be something to parody in the first place - layman's terms, not legal. I was also told that Al, even though he isn't required to pay them, does anyway.

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemccraw
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He's not necessarily required to ask permission, but does anyway.

But a payment must be made when using someone else's music. Just like Sam Smith writing new lyrics and using Tom Petty's music.
 
As was remarked on earlier in the thread, Radio Shack has indeed gone bankrupt. Local RS stores are fire-selling everything. If you need some cheap headphone cables, now's the time.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with Al's presence in ads; probably the smartest thing they've done business-wise in 30 years. But RS lost a lot of relevancy in the big box store age, and never found a way to improve their business model to recapture that market. Things like cellphones and drones came too late to their stores, and their generic offerings were usually overpriced and under-quality.
 
alparrott said:
As was remarked on earlier in the thread, Radio Shack has indeed gone bankrupt. Local RS stores are fire-selling everything. If you need some cheap headphone cables, now's the time.
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That was me.

Now if only I could predict lottery numbers with such accuracy...
 
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