Music Publishers' Association Crack Down On Unlicensed Tablatures, Song Scores And Lyrics In 2006
The following is a BBC report, found here, warning that websites offering unlicensed tablatures, song scores and lyrics are in danger of facing legal action with the coming of the new year:
The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006. MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.
He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal". Mr. Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".
The move comes after several years of bitter legal battles against unauthorised services allowing users to download recordings for free. Publishing companies have taken action against websites in the past, but this will be the first co-ordinated legal campaign by the MPA. The MPA would target "very big sites that people would think are legitimate and very, very popular", Mr Keiser said.
"The Xerox machine was the big usurper of our potential income," he said. "But now the internet is taking more of a bite out of sheet music and printed music sales so we're taking a more proactive stance."
David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers' Association, added his concerns. "Unauthorised use of lyrics and tablature deprives the songwriter of the ability to make a living, and is no different than stealing," he said. "Music publishers and songwriters will consider all tools under the law to stop this illegal behaviour."
Sandro del Greco, who runs Tabhall.co.uk, said the issue was not serious enough to warrant jail time and sites like his were not necessarily depriving publishers of income.
"I play the drums mainly but I play the guitar as well. I run the website and I still buy the [tab] books," he said. "The tabs online aren't deadly accurate so if someone really wants to know it they'll buy the book. But most of the bands I listen to don't have tab books to buy so if you get them online, that's the only way you can really learn it unless you work it out yourself."
The campaign comes after lyric-finding software PearLyrics was forced off the internet by a leading music publishing company, Warner Chappell.
PearLyrics worked with Apple's iTunes, searching the internet to find lyrics for songs in a user's collection.
"I just don't see why PearLyrics should infringe the copyright of Warner Chappell because all I'm doing is searching publicly-available websites," PearLyrics developer Walter Ritter said. "It would be different if they had an alternative service that also provided lyrics online and also integrated [with iTunes] like PearLyrics did. But they don't offer anything like that at all."
Warner Chappell were unavailable for comment.
Source: BWBK
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7 Comments on "MPA Crack Down on Lyric and Tab Sites"
Member
3. writes:
i have nothing against protecting ones work and such, but this is isn't right, more than half the time these tabs aren't accurate. its all user submited. same with the lyrics. on top of that a lot of these sites aren't making money. if they were then they have a right to sue.
i say copyright is made obsolete by the internet and creative commons replaces it with the internet.
composers and song writers make a lot of money off of the sale of their music. and not as much off of other things like CDs. but then again the market for this stuff is limited. you won't find some non-major label band (even CM probably) with full printed sheet music in your local music store.
the internet is just making word of mouth easier. until anyone realises this they will keep b****ing. i learned most songs from a friend, not from a book. and that friend learned it from a recording. whats next? sueing people who make midis? thats how i learned music.
Founder, owner & programmer
4. writes:
They already sued a bunch of free and pay ringtone providers who "stole" tunes without paying royalties. Might as well sue everyone else providing tabs and lyrics, etc. Unfortunately such moves are driven by the true commercial successes, which usually amounts to pop music. Clearly, no one would bother to publish tabs and lyrics book for underground bands or bands who sell under 100K albums. Where's the market?
Member
5. writes:
paying for ringtones is stupid, anyone who does that doesn't know how to use their phone. there are plenty of midi sites. i dont' see anyone sueing them :P
most phones have bluetooth enabled or have a data port adaptor you can buy. i uploaded my own midis to my phone along with some others.
just remember, for every penny these rich people have its one less we have and its one less we can give to someone who really needs it (like our children?).
7. writes:
if reading tabs is illegal, is it illegal to play along with a song on the guitar? so next time i jam along to my favorite led zeppelin song, because it is f***ing unauthorized, i will go to jail!!!
thats bullsh**.
this should be stopped before they deprive me of my rights even further
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Former Contributor
1. RememberMetal? writes:
For Christs sake what the f*** is next?!!?
I know someone who became a pretty decent guitarst by getting tabs off the internet. This is outlandish, hopefully this bullsh** falls through the cracks.