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Music Copyright Law

It's All in the Words

[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Des Moines Register.]

Tom Camp, a Beverly Hills lawyer who represents Willson's widow, Rosemary, and Meredith Willson Music, said that Rosemary Willson still owns the copyright of the song written and introduced in 1951 by her husband, who grew up in Mason City and is best known for writing and composing the musical "The Music Man."

Camp said his client would not have approved the use of the song in the lottery commercial, even if she had been asked. Camp said he is exploring legal options for what he considers a violation of copyright law by the University of Iowa and the lottery.

"She has approved many commercial uses of Mr. Willson's music, but she would not have approved a parody lyric," Camp said. "She has been incredibly consistent about that for the 20 years I have worked with her on these issues."

Mary Neubauer, vice president of external relations for the Iowa Lottery, acknowledged Friday that lottery officials had been contacted about the commercial by the Meredith Willson Foundation. "We haven't had a chance to review the situation," Neubauer said. "Because it is a legal issue, (it) would not be appropriate for me to comment further."

Mark Abbott, a U of I assistant athletic director, said school officials are reviewing the situation and would react appropriately. "If a mistake has been made, it will have to be rectified," he said. "If it is our mistake, we will be the ones to take care of it. Whatever has to be done will be done."

Camp said that Rosemary Willson, who is in her 80s, has been ill and that she declined to be interviewed.

"I did speak with Mrs. Willson. ... It would not have been licensed for this," Camp said.

Debate about the advertising campaign, in which the lottery will give away a Dodge Caliber SXT car customized in Hawkeye colors and logos, escalated last week when U of I faculty members urged the athletic department to sever ties with state lottery promotions.

The television commercial features a Hawkeye fan sitting in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as he plays the lottery instant ticket game Diamond Mine. As he scratches a ticket, the man parodies the fight song with new words as the original song is played.

Gary Barta, Iowa athletic director, acknowledged Thursday that he didn't review the commercial before it aired. He also said that the athletic department had given the lottery permission to use the song and the school's colors and logos in the commercial.

Barta, asked whether the school improperly allowed use of the fight song, said that if was a copyright violation, "it certainly was accidental."

The commercial had been reviewed by members of the Hawkeye athletic marketing staff but should have been stopped because of the use of Carver-Hawkeye and the fight song, Barta said.

Records show the lottery paid $14,400 to Hawkeye Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Sports Inc., which holds the rights to sell advertising for Hawkeye athletic events and publications.

Neubauer said Learfield had given approval for the lottery to do the ad because it promoted Iowa education as well as Iowa businesses and products. Neubauer said that the television commercial is no longer being aired.

A radio version of the promotion using the song was heard during coverage of the Iowa-Wisconsin men's basketball game on Saturday, however.

"We submitted the concepts and details to Learfield who, in turn, submitted them to the U of I sports marketing department. Approval was received from the sports marketing department," Neubauer said.

Several histories of University of Iowa athletics show that Willson wrote the song as a replacement for "The Iowa Corn Song" played at U of I football games in the 1930s and 1940s. The first rendition of the "Iowa Fight Song," according to those records, was played in Iowa City at halftime of an Iowa-Indiana basketball game on Feb. 12, 1951.

COPYRIGHT LAW: The law requires payment for use of a songwriter's work. Performance rights organizations such as BMI, ASCAP and SESAC collect royalties for nondramatic performances of intellectual properties such as music played on jukeboxes, the Internet and radio. These societies essentially license the music for artists and songwriters to customers and remit the money they collect to the artists and songwriters.

FEDERAL LAW: It requires that any commercial use of someone's intellectual property be approved through a license.
 

THE "IOWA FIGHT SONG"

Songwriter Meredith Willson's 1951 composition begins this way:

"The word is 'Fight! Fight! Fight! for Iowa,'

Let every loyal Iowan sing;

The word is 'Fight! Fight! Fight! for Iowa,'

Until the walls and rafters ring (Go Hawks!)."
 

IOWA LOTTERY COMMERCIAL SONG

The lyrics set to the melody of the "Iowa Fight Song" begin this way:

"I'm gonna scratch, scratch, scratch my Diamond Mine.

I could win 30,000 bucks.

And, if I don't win big the first time,

You know I'm still not out of luck. (Oh yeah)."