So many wrongs. So little time.
 
Thus the genesis of VERSUS. Born of the conviction that musical parody is mightier than PowerPoint, VERSUS is an equal opportunity skewer-er of the ruthless, the truthless, the reckless, the feckless.
 
VERSUS parodies are written by Marcy Shaffer, whose professional writing experience includes television, film, lyrics, verse and … musical parody. The parody lyrics on the page become the audio of VERSUS courtesy of some of the best musical talent in the business.
 
VERSUS is co-produced by Russ Meyer, a private equity veteran whose industry expertise includes financial services as well as entertainment.
 
With VERSUS, our goal is to produce and distribute the finest musical parody available: on the web, from the web and in live performance.
 
Since its October 21, 2005 debut, VERSUS has attracted an enthusiastic audience that, based on comments received, spans the political spectrum. We hope to keep it that way. As Americans, our commonalities far outweigh our differences; when we laugh together, we can resume talking to each other and working with each other.
 
Were such an idyllic world to evolve, of course, VERSUS would lose its material. And a certain Stanford MBA would lose his job.
 
We're betting our MBA stays employed.
 
Welcome to VERSUS.
 
 
ABOUT PARODY
 
Parody has a long, strong, proud tradition in American culture – even more so in American political/cultural culture. Like other song parodists, VERSUS relies on the legal protections provided by the copyright law's doctrine of fair use. Very generally speaking: a parodist can use someone else’s original work for the purpose of humor, ridicule, comment or the like, if the parody creates a transformed new work. A parody can use the character and characteristics of the original -- indeed, must use them -- both to make a clear association between the original and the parody and successfully to make its point.
 
VERSUS strives hard to live up to the venerable tradition of American parody. In addition, VERSUS is vigilant to ensure that its song parodies cannot be confused with the originals by the consumer or the public, that its song parodies do not dilute the commercial value of the originals, and that its song parodies would never seek to replace the originals in the marketplace.
 
If you're interested in fair use or parody, we refer you to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music. For all questions relating to fair use and parody, VERSUS relies on its lawyers. This section is not intended as a legal opinion or legal advice, and you should never rely on anything in this section to answer any questions about fair use or parody.