Annual Royalties

reece1 | 15:26 Thu 14th Mar 2002 | Music

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What are the estimated annual royalties from the song "Happy Birthday to you"?

auld lang syne

full albums

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andy hughes

The third most played song in ASCAP history - 'Happy Birthday' was written by schoolteacher sisters Mildred and Patty Hill in 1893, as 'Good Morning To All'. One Robert H Coleman added a second verse - the 'Happy Birthday' lyric, using the original tune, without permission, and was sued by Patty and third sister Jessica, after Mildred's death. Although their original verse had been dropped through lack of use, the court agreed that the sisters owned the song, and it was copyrighted in 1935. The sisters' share of the royalties was donated to funding education for poor children. Warner Communications bought Copyright Control of the song in 1988, paying $25 million for it. Estimated annual royalties are about $1 million per year, and will remain collectable until 2010, when the copyright expires, and the song passes into the public domain.

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