https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260210-00/?p=112052 Skip to main content [RE1Mu3b] Microsoft Dev Blogs Dev Blogs Dev Blogs * Home * Developer + Microsoft for Developers + Visual Studio + Visual Studio Code + Develop from the cloud + All things Azure + Xcode + DevOps + Windows Developer + ISE Developer + Azure SDK + Command Line + Aspire * Technology + DirectX + Semantic Kernel * Languages + C++ + C# + F# + TypeScript + PowerShell Team + Python + Java + Java Blog in Chinese + Go * .NET + All .NET posts + .NET Aspire + .NET MAUI + AI + ASP.NET Core + Blazor + Entity Framework + NuGet + Servicing + .NET Blog in Chinese * Platform Development + #ifdef Windows + Microsoft Foundry + Azure Government + Azure VM Runtime Team + Bing Dev Center + Microsoft Edge Dev + Microsoft Azure + Microsoft 365 Developer + Microsoft Entra Identity Developer + Old New Thing + Power Platform * Data Development + Azure Cosmos DB + Azure Data Studio + Azure SQL + OData + Revolutions R + Unified Data Model (IDEAs) + Microsoft Entra PowerShell * More [ ] Search Search * No results Cancel * Dev Blogs * The Old New Thing * How did Windows 95 get permission to put the Weezer video Buddy Holly on the CD? February 10th, 2026 0 reactions How did Windows 95 get permission to put the Weezer video Buddy Holly on the CD? Raymond Chen Raymond Chen Show more Some time ago, I noted that the Windows 95 CD contained a variety of multimedia extras, partly because they were fun, and partly to show off Windows 95's multimedia capabilities. One of those multimedia extras was the music video for the song Buddy Holly by the band Weezer. Acquiring permission to redistribute the video took multiple steps. First, Microsoft had to secure the rights to the song itself, which was negotiated directly with Weezer's publisher Geffen Records, and apparently without the knowledge of the band members themselves. They were reportedly upset that they weren't consulted but later realized that it was "one of the greatest things that could have happened to us. Can you imagine that happening today? It's like, there's one video on YouTube, and it's your video." But that only secured the rights to the music. What about the video? The video takes place in a reconstruction of a location from the Happy Days television program, and clips from that show were spliced into the music video to create the illusion that many of the characters from the show were part of the video. The lawyer responsible for securing the rights to the video had to contact all of the actors from Happy Days to get their permission. That lawyer thoroughly enjoyed the assignment. I don't know whether he got to talk to the actors directly, or only to their agents, but I can imagine it being an interesting experience trying to find Henry Winkler's telephone number (or his agent's telephone number) with a chance of talking to The Fonz himself. 0 * * * * * * 1 0 * Facebook Share on Facebook * Share on X * LinkedIn Share on Linkedin Category Old New Thing Topics History Share * * * Author Raymond Chen Raymond Chen Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information. 1 comment Join the discussion. Leave a commentCancel reply Sign in [ ] [Reply] [Cancel] Code of Conduct Sort by : Newest Newest Popular Oldest * [png] Brian Hart February 10, 2026 0 Collapse this comment Copy link "with a chance of talking to The Fonz himself" He's very good. Log in to Vote or Reply Read next February 3, 2026 Some small stories about the giant satellite dish antenna that was behind Microsoft Building 11 Raymond Chen Raymond Chen January 19, 2026 What was the secret sauce that allows for a faster restart of Windows 95 if you hold the shift key? 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