Lyrics of modified Lady Gaga song to be removed from NDP
booklet
SINGAPORE: Organisers of the National Day Parade
will be removing the lyrics of a modified Lady Gaga song, Bad
Romance, from their song booklet.
This is because even though the cheer to introduce
the items in the Funpack will not be performed, it is still a
copyright infringement if the booklet contains the
lyrics.
The NDP show committee told Channel NewsAsia that
they will be taking out the offending page before the next
rehearsal show on Saturday, July 16. The booklets for the preview
and actual parade show will be printed without the lyrics. The
video of the performance has also been taken off YouTube.
In a recent interview, Lady Gaga said she had no issue with her
lyrics being changed, and said after seeing the cheer that it was
"great" her music was being used to support culture.
"I think she is liberal about that," said Sharon Chua, a publishing
manager at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which owns the rights to the
score and lyrics. "But of course as an administrator for her
repertoire, we have to seek prior clearance from our US head
office."
The decision does not always lie with the artist, she notes.
However in this case, Lady Gaga has the final say, being the
composer of Bad Romance.
With the cheer pulled out and the video taken off, this may
hopefully put an end to the organisers' troubles. But the incident
has also caused come confusion, which the Composers and Authors
Society of Singapore (COMPASS), an association overseeing music
copyright in Singapore, hopes to clarify.
Dr Edmund Lam, CEO and Director of COMPASS, said: "There's some
public concern, they've asked a lot of questions in the last few
days, whether a person who performs a song in the karaoke with
modified lyrics, whether they're infringing copyright.
"In general, no action will be taken against those doing a general
public performance with a proper COMPASS license, and even with
altered lyrics it's okay, so long as it's not recorded in a
material form or uploaded onto the internet."
Besides COMPASS, there are several other organisations in Singapore
that may advise on copyright and licensing issues, such as the
Recording Industry Association of Singapore (RIAS) and Music
Publishers (Singapore). These organisations often have information
on their websites for anyone who wishes to use music works and is
unsure of the rules.
-CNA/ac
