Talking Heads "Road To Nowhere"

David Byrne must appreciate the irony. And perhaps the cash, too.

Following up last Friday's post about Patty Griffin's possible payday, David Byrne may have had an inadvertently fruitful last week, too.

It seems that Florida Governor Charlie Crist used the Talking Heads song "Road To Nowhere" in an attack ad against Marco Rubio, that aired online.

Because Byrne is the songwriter, he is due compensation for the use. Or at the very least, he must grant permission if anyone---be it a political candidate, a cable channel or a new brand of soap---wants to use his song in their ad.

Crist did not ask, so Byrne is suing him for one million dollars.

(A brief editorial: Wouldn't it be great if lawmakers knew enough about copyright law so as not to flagrantly break it?)

Here's the best part. Byrne is suing, because he deserves to be paid if someone is using his song in their broadcast of a message. Because of the players involved (famous singer, well known candidate, contentious election race, political party that has recently run afoul of copyright law and promised to never do it again) this story has made national news.

So when ABC Nightly News runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And they have to report that they did. And Byrne gets paid.

When NPR runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And Byrne gets paid.

When your local Fox affiliate runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And Byrne gets paid.

And so on and so on, until the news cycle ends.

Byrne's lawsuit may never come to court. He may never get the one million dollars from Crist. But because this song will appear in the National media more frequently than a 20 year old song would on any average day, Byrne's next royalty check is likely to be quite a bit fatter.

"Rich with irony" was never so accurate.