It lasts for around 14 seconds, is the most recognised song in the English language, and has been translated into a further 18 languages.
Its tune is believed to have been composed by two American sisters in 1893, the value of the song alone was estimated at $5m when it was bought by Warner/Chappel Music in 1998, and it’s estimated to have amassed $50m in earnings since its creation.

It is, of course, Happy Birthday, the short-but-excruciating piece of music that nobody enjoys singing, and only children enjoy hearing.
It was also the subject of a legal royalties wrangle last year, at the end of which a judge in America ruled that the song was now, officially, in the public domain.
Why are we telling you this? Well, My Music Solutions has just celebrated its second anniversary, and we’re in a celebratory mood. Luckily, none of us is singing, though.
Since we launched, we have achieved some pretty impressive figures of our own. Admittedly nothing quite like those of Happy Birthday, but still, we’re proud of what we have achieved.
In our two years, we have saved £1.6m for businesses by recalculating their music/performance use, thus reducing the cost of their PPL and PRS for Music licences.
So far we’ve saved money for 94 per cent of businesses we’ve spoken to, and we operate on a no-saving, no-fee basis, so there really is nothing to lose.
Our third year is already proving to be an eventful one: we recently heard that PRS and PPL were launching a joint venture, to which all future music and performance licences will be paid.
There is genuine concern from licensees and industry bodies that there may only been a certain amount of time left to ensure license fees are right before and permanent changes are made and the ability to amend be lost.
It is important to take action now – speak to us, address your current PRS/PPL licence, and we can help ensure that licence rates stay fair and accurate forever.
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