Great performance

[libertango]

jackwilliambell points to this video of Jake Shimabukuro playing George Harrison's tune "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on the ukelele. It's very impressive. You can also find Jake's recording of the song on his album Walking Down Rainhill.

Jack also asks about the legal propriety of all this. I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that covers are governed by what's known as a compulsory license. That is, you don't have to get permission from the copyright holder to record a cover, you just have to pay a fixed royalty after the fact.

The big deal in musical copyrights, really, are performance licenses. That is, the right to, say, use a particular performance of a song in a movie. Use the Beatles' original recording of "My Guitar", and it'll probably cost an arm and a leg. Cover it yourself, and (I believe) you only have to pay the compulsory license fee. This is why, for example, Prince is re-recording his entire back catalog of records -- He wants to have a set of recordings he owns, rather than Warner Bros.

Again, I am not a lawyer, and this should not be regarded as advice of any sort, but just one person's understanding of the situation, which may well be flawed and need correction. :)

Comments

[ckd]

I believe that the lack of Beatles songs on soundtracks is a "there isn't enough money to get a yes" issue (similar to their not being on iTunes Music Store, etc). Hence the proliferation of Beatles covers on soundtracks (see also I Am Sam).