“Layla” without sexism? The spokesman for the Oktoberfest hosts has announced a politically correct version of the controversial hit for the Oktoberfest. But is it that easy? What about copyright?
Munich – The author of the controversial party song “Layla”, Schürze, sees plans for a new text at the Munich Oktoberfest left. “I think 99 percent of the audience will sing along with ‘Layla’ in the original version, so I’m not upset,” he told the German Press Agency. “If the Oktoberfest hosts think they need to rewrite the song, they should do it. The fans celebrate the song and still sing along.”
Pop singer Ikke Hipgold takes the whole thing with humour: “We applaud from afar and laugh our heads off when the whole tent is upside down and still sings “Puff”,” said the producer, whose real name is Matthias Distel and whose record company is also ” Layla” released.
“Adaptations or other transformations of a work, especially a melody, may only be published or used with the consent of the author,” says paragraph 23 of the Copyright Act.
Performance in a beer tent a “grey area”
Actually, said Distel, the publisher had to agree if a song to which he held the rights was changed. But if it’s just a performance in a beer tent, that’s a “grey area”. “But we’re relaxed about it anyway. From a legal point of view, it is of course always difficult to edit something without asking the author, but we keep our feet still. The crowd will roar the new lyrics with the original lyrics anyway.”
The spokesman for the Wiesn hosts, Peter Inselkammer, had announced that the band would present a modified version of the controversial song by DJ Robin & Schürze in his “Armbrustschützenzelt” at the Oktoberfest – presumably without the line “I’ve got a puff – and my puff mom’s name is Layla. She’s prettier, younger, hornier.”
“Our Kapellmeister has thought about something,” said Inselkammer. “He is preparing another text that is not sexist.” That is better “than if we ignore it”. The Oktoberfest restaurateurs had previously agreed that the original version of the song should not be played at the Oktoberfest. That is the prevailing opinion and a recommendation, said Inselkammer. But the fact that the crowd starts singing the song “we won’t be able to prevent that”. dpa
