Gershwin Shows’ Tonys Fuel Plans for a Musical; New York Times, 6/14/12

Patrick Healy, New York Times; Gershwin Shows’ Tonys Fuel Plans for a Musical:

"Over the last year the trustees — mostly nephews and grandnephews of George and Ira — have been called greedy, unsophisticated and insensitive to the artistic integrity of the brothers’ work: essentially, that they were cashing in on the music before their copyrights expired. While the famous opera songs from “Porgy and Bess” will be available in the public domain in about two decades, the musical version of “Porgy and Bess” is its own licensable property that can generate income for Gershwin relatives for decades, as will the separate license for the other new Gershwin songbook musical on Broadway, “Nice Work if You Can Get It.”"

The Songs Remain the Same, but Broadway Heirs Call the Shots; New York Times, 1/9/12

Patrick Healy, New York Times; The Songs Remain the Same, but Broadway Heirs Call the Shots:

"On Thursday, after years of fits and starts, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” will open on Broadway, updated and streamlined, part of a spate of unusually aggressive undertakings by musical-theater estates...

The newly adapted book for the Broadway version of “Porgy and Bess” — but not the songs — will likely gain a new copyright that could be licensed. The estates’ trustees say the moneymaking potential of the new copyright depends on the Broadway musical becoming a hit that producers will want to license in the future.

Since “Nice Work” is a new show, the Gershwin estates will have a long new copyright to enjoy, whereas the rights for the original 1926 show, “Oh, Kay!” expire at the end of 2021. (The Gershwin estates now earn a few million dollars a year, according to the trustees.)"