Lyric sites under threat

[Steve]

Lyric sites are now under threat from music publishers.

MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.

Strong sentiments indeed! What do you think?

Full story here.

[Nightwolf]

ridiculous, I learn songs by ear, will that be a crime too?? People that use tab books will still buy them. I write Lyrics so they will be heard and understood. As long as they are not taken and used for a different purpose I think it's fine to have them available. I say to the music industry....STOP WHINING!!!

[nigel lawry]

ridiculous, I learn songs by ear, will that be a crime too?? People that use tab books will still buy them. I write Lyrics so they will be heard and understood. As long as they are not taken and used for a different purpose I think it's fine to have them available. I say to the music industry....STOP WHINING!!!

i agree yrs ago lyrics where included inside the record sleeve,

people like to know what the artist is saying freedom of speach is allowed so why not freedom to read!!!

[john]

Hi

I knew it was illegal. That's why I'm pretty careful about copyright infringement on Songstuff. The last thing we need is a publisher trying to close the site.

Bear in mind that publishing income from printed music/lyrics is a small part of an artists income by comparison to mechanical rights. But the point is the publishing of lyrics or music is under the control of the body holding publishing rights. The same basic rights (although administered by different companies and agencies) that allow them to sue an individual for taking your song and re-recording and releasing your song, also allows them to control written forms of the work.

The problem here is the printed music market has dropped through the floor, and there are few official sheet music sites. In fact I'm not sure there are any. As the publishing companies don't have a presence online, this allows them to possibly recoupe cash from the sites, and allows then an in on the internet.

While I agree that if an artist wants to give away free printed music he should be able to. However if he has taken money from a publishing company then the artist no longer has full control.

btw. I believe that the publishing companies get derived income for sleeve published lyrics. Mechanical rights cover the CD, not the sleeve.

Cheers

John

[Lazz]

Predictable - except for Keiser's demand for jail-time - I expected him to settle for offenders simply being stripped and flogged.

In the blue corner we have an internet generation ideology that claims a right to free access.

In the red corner we have the copyright owners.

I'm sure I would experience many mixed emotions if I discovered my lyrics reproduced somewhere alien and without my consent. Chuffed and proud and complimented maybe, that someone else would have considered them worthy enough to be shared with unknown multitudes, but probably also I would suffer a disturbing sense of having been ripped-off, unasked, and treated discourteously, let alone illegally.

Unauthorised translation and duplication of his words were exactly what pissed-off Victor Hugo enough for him to lobby for the foundation of our protection under the Berne Convention - and I still find his arguments very persuasive - despite what his US detractors have to say.

From the end-user/lyric-searcher point of view, the threat and tactic seems a mite churlish, I agree - but then so is theft of copyright material. The naked truth is simply that theft is only limited by what you can reasonably get away with.

[Lazz]

btw. I believe that the publishing companies get derived income for sleeve published lyrics. Mechanical rights cover the CD, not the sleeve.

Seems common practice for contracts to contain a clause giving record companies the unshackled right to publish lyrics on sleeves - unshackled except for the copyright notice - and no money to publisher.

[john]

Seems common practice for contracts to contain a clause giving record companies the unshackled right to publish lyrics on sleeves - unshackled except for the copyright notice - and no money to publisher.

Thanks Lazz. I knew you'd know the answer to that one!