My thinking on this is that recording and releasing Rubber Ducky would be similar to recording and releasing the theme song from Seinfeld...or Sesame Street. You would be infringing on their ability to profit from their intellectual property. In essence, you'd be using all the promotion they have done for their characters to sell your recording. If, for example, the day after Alan Jackson releases his next album, I run into the studio, record all the songs on it, sink about a half a million into promotion and release my own album within a week, I'm sure I'd have the lawyers waiting at my door. It's not that I recorded the songs, it's that I am obviously trying to gain an unfair advantage from AJ's promotion.

In your case, Chuck, it's not the song they are protecting. It's the character of the Rubber Ducky in Ernie's bathtub that has been promoted by both the TV show and the video. It's the difference between recording Disney's "Someday My Prince Will Come" or recording "The Mickey Mouse Club Theme".

Again, I may be wrong on this, but I assume that's why it's not available for mechanical rather than perfomance license. You can sing it all you want, you just can't sell it.

I'd still recommend finding the publisher and contacting them. I'll bet it's someone involved with CTW, Sesame Street, Henson, or the Muppets.

Brian's advice is the best,Danny should know.

Good Luck,
Mike

------------------
Mike Dunbar Music

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music