Beatallica

Beatallica are a parody band that play music made from combinations of songs of Beatles and Metallica. Some are Beatles songs as if they were covered by Metallica, and viceversa . The songs' lyrics are subtly changed to include phrases from both bands.

Founded in 2001 as a spoof project by singer Jaymz Lennfield and guitarist Kirk Hammetson, Beatallica initially released their songs exclusively on their website. In 2004, the band (now including bassist Kliff McBurtney and drummer Ringo Larz) started to perform at live venues, with a stage show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica performances.

To avoid legal problems, the band maintains a strict non-commercial policy (all songs are available for free download) and shrouds themselves in anonymity (all names mentioned above are of course stage names). According to the website's FAQ section, Metallica are aware of the spoof band's existence and have so far not threatened to take any legal action.

On February 17th, 2005, a cease-and-desist notice was sent to Beatallica by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company which holds rights to most of the Beatles catalogue. The notice states that the "music", "news" and "merchandise" sections of the official Beatallica website constitute a copyright violation and should therefore be taken down. In response to this, a petition requesting Sony/ATV Music Publishing to retract its threat of legal action was created. The band was saved from further legal action by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who offered to provide assistance with legal negotiations and also asked Metallica's longtime attorney to try and defuse the situation with Sony. Ultimately, Sony's lawsuit was dropped.

External links

• Official website
• Article on Clevescene.com
• The Sony/ATV Music Publishing cease-and-desist notice (PDF file)