CAN I COPY YOUR WORK WITHOUT PAYING?  YOU DID IT!
Even though a parody is derived from a prior work without compensation, that does not imply that the parody work itself may be copied in turn without compensation. The parodies in this volume are themselves protected by copyright.

To claim Parodic Fair Use, it is not enough to change a few words and imagine turning a song into a newer parody. Rather, the entire focus of the piece must be altered in such a way that the prior work itself (in this hypothetical case, a song from this very book) becomes a subject of the new work. It is as difficult to parody a parody as to make fun of a joke. That said, one requirement for a successful parody is audience familiarity with the source material. If you manage to make my work sufficiently familiar that it can be successfully parodied, we will both be happy.

Registered trademarks referenced in these songs are credited, and used here under the Fair Use doctrine established in Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894 (9^th Cir. 2002), in which Mattel sued (and lost) for trademark infringement over Aqua’s 1997 use of the Barbie® trademark in its song “Barbie Girl.”

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
If you wish to perform one of these numbers live in front of an audience, the custom is to purchase a copy for each singing member of your cast for the song, for each member of your band playing the song, for your director, if any, and for any crew that need a copy of the score. I will happily sell performance sets of individual numbers so you do not have to purchase several copies of the whole book (not that I would mind if you bought several copies of the whole book!).

The only other thing I ask is that you invite me to the performance(s). Really. I want to see and hear it. It would make my day. You don’t have to pay for my airfare or even my ticket, but you do have to invite me to attend. This is not optional, even though I may not attend if my budget or schedule conflicts. I know this sounds unusual, but I own these numbers, and I can require anything I want for the right to perform them. An invite is what I want. It doesn’t seem like much to me. And we’ll probably become friends. Everybody wins.

RECORDING RIGHTS AND OTHER USE RIGHTS
I will be happy to negotiate recording rights for individual songs, or small sets (e.g. A Towel Boy’s Carol, Loan Sharks, a Stalker set, or the Clef Notes^TM set). However, I am planning one or more musical theatre works to include many or all of these songs, so I reserve the right not to approve a use or recording that might compete with those projects. I am pretty reasonable though. We can talk, especially if your ideas are better, faster, or potentially more lucrative than mine. However, I will require that you send me two free copies of any recording you make.