Let's All Sing - Happy Birthday To Me.....

"Happy Birthday to me. 

Happy Birthday to........

Wait, 

stop singing that song! 

Or I will have to pay 

Royalties 

to someone who owns the copyright. 

If you didn't know, 

the song is copyrighted, 
to a corporation.

Here's the poop on this story.

Sing 'Happy Birthday' and It'll Cost You 
by Joel Siegel & John Cochran for ABCNews.com

The Guinness Book of Records calls it the most popular song in the English language. It has been sung to popes and presidents, and incorporated into nearly 150 movies. It was featured in the world's first singing telegram. And during the Apollo 9 mission, it became the first song performed in outer space. Everyone knows the words to "Happy Birthday to You." What few people know is that the song is owned by a private company, and that it is copyrighted. Use it for any commercial purpose, and you are supposed to pay up, says George Washington University School of Law professor Robert Brauneis. "If you want to sing it at your home at a birthday party you don't have to pay anything, because that is a private performance," he said. "But if you want to use it in a television show, a movie, or a television commercial, you'll pay anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 for those rights." Turns out this humble little ditty is a cash juggernaut, generating approximately $2 million in royalties every year, Brauneis said. After a series of purchases and acquisitions, the song is now owned by Warner Music Group, through its publishing arm, Warner/Chappell. It collects royalties for everything from happy birthday ring-tones to e-cards that play "Happy Birthday to You." 

Commercially, 

you won't be able to use the song, 
without paying, 
until the year 2030 when the copyright runs out. 

But you know how greed works. 

They'll find a way to extend it somehow.

On a happier note, 

no wait, 

it's not happier if you get hung up on the age thing. 

My Dad is trying to convince me that I'm actually older then 60 years! 

Here is his logic. 

The day you are born is your birthday. 

We all know that. 

On your next birthday you celebrate one year of life. 

We all know that. 

The day after your birthday you are starting your second year of life. 

That means you are 2 years old! 

We all didn't know that. 

So, 

being the Salesman he has always been, 

he is crunching the numbers the way he wants them to look, 

making me that much older! 

Starting today, 

I'm going to announce, 

like any respectful human being would, 

for the next ten years my age will always be 60 years old. 

I'm picking an age 

and I'm not growing any older from that age,

like all the women in my family do! 

This is,

Feeling Younger Everyday,

Jim Hauenstein,

And,

“You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.” - Bob Hope -

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

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P.S. I'm Not Calling Myself A Woman!