In a story which might be the defining behavior of capitalism gone wrong, Warner/Chappell music is in a fight to preserve their exclusive rights to the happy birthday song. Yes, the warm little ditty that’s been sung at birthday gatherings far and wide for decades is somebody’s property. And it turns out that it’s a more or less the park place of the music property world – it’s estimated that Warner Music Group makes 2 Million dollars in royalties off of the happy birthday song each year.
The Birth of a Cash Cow
The story of the happy birthday song can be tracked all the way back to 1893 when the original writers of the tune, Patty and Mildred Hill sold the rights for its use to a Clayton Summy. In 1998, the music company that Summy originally founded was purchased by Warner Music Group. As a result, the Warner Music Group inherited the song rights that Summy’s company had originally held. They apparently began charging a fee for usage of the happy birthday song soon after. In the years since acquiring Summy’s former company, Warner Music Group has charged a number of television and film outfits for using the happy birthday song in their productions.
Currently, there are pending lawsuits aimed at revoking Warner Music Group’s exclusive rights to the song. Additionally, there’s a movement afoot to try to make Warner Music Group reimburse the people who it had previously charged for using the happy birthday song.