Some hot music-business news from The Land Down Under: Larrikin Music, the Australian publishing company that holds the rights to the old campfire favorite “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” just successfully won five percent of Men at Work’s royalties for the song “Down Under.” Larrikin alleges that the flute part in Men at Work’s international hit and de facto Australian pop anthem too closely mimics “Kookaburra,” which was written by a now-deceased schoolteacher over 70 years ago.
From WKRN:
On Tuesday, Jacobson ordered Men at Work's recording company, EMI Songs Australia, and "Down Under" songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert, to pay 5 percent of royalties earned from the song since 2002 and from its future earnings. A statute of limitations restricted Larrikin from seeking royalties earned before 2002. The court didn't specify what the 5 percent penalty translates to in dollars.
Larrikin initially sought 60 percent of royalties, but the judge seemed to agree with EMI’s claim that that was a bit steep. EMI is, of course, filing an appeal.
Here’s a video posted by an indignant “Kookaburra” supporter singing the original melody over Men at Work’s instrumentation. Mildly funnier is
this unnecessarily censored versionof Barney and friends singing the Australian jam. Now, follow me as I make a nuanced segue from one international music news story to another, won’t you?
