Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

Re: Copyright Infringement

You are mixing more than one kind of rights in this question, primarily copyright (which is itself a bundle of rights) with right of publicity and trademark.

Radio stations, including advertisers, must subscribe to the mandatory licensing services ASCAP and BMI, which gives them the right to use any recorded music covered by these agencies (almost all are). One a song is published, and once recording is made (this is two separate sets of copyrights, understand), anyone who wants to can pay a statutory fixed rate to use the recording -- hence the term "mandatory license" and a copyright holder may not restrict this use. ASCAP or BMI in the US (and similar agencies in other countries) collects this money and distributes it to the respective copyright holders. In short, the copyright holders do get paid for these uses, even if such rights are not negotiated directly with the advertisers and radio stations.

The use of Elvis impersonators, however, involves right of publicity, which the Elvis Estate (for one) very vigorous protects and will go after any unauthorized use. (Some celebrities are not so aggressive.) Right of publicity, however, varies widely from state to state (Tennessee is the most restrictive, California's is less so and requires actual registration for protection), with some states providing very little obstacle to free use. Use of Elvis and Star Wars, etc., in TV commercials would most likely include trademark violations.