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<font size="-1"><font face="Georgia">I think that one must make a
difference between rights (a) on the music; (b) on its (printed) score;
(c) on its performance.<br>
<br>
– So long as the music
itself is under copyright, any unauthorized reproduction, be it as
score or as performance, is illegal. Even short quotations for
scholarly or educational purposes usually are not allowed (which, let
me add, is a scandal).<br>
– A publisher has additional rights on the score, its format, its
presentation, and the like. If the music itself is not yet public
domain, the rights on the music and those on its score often are
intermingled because the music is only accessible through its score. I
presume that music publishers usually do not buy the music that they
publish: they act as agents for the composer and as the source of his
or her royalties.<br>
– A performance is owned by its performers, who usually have bought the
right to play. The publisher of the recording is, with respect to the
performers, in a situation similar to that of the publisher of the
score with respect to the composer.<br>
<br>
The situation of a MIDI file depends on what it records. If it is
produced by the score (say, through a notation software such as Finale
or Sibelius), it merely is another electronic form of the score. If it
reproduces an actual performance, then it is a recording. In the first
case, trouble may come both from the composer and the publisher; in the
second case, from the three of them.<br>
<br>
If the music itself is public domain, then the rights that may remain
linked to the score concern its graphic image and additional contents
such as fingerings, etc. So called "Urtext" editions (and others)
involve an editorial work that also remains protected. If our musical
examples are rewritten in a music notation software, they should better
be copied from public domain scores (see imslp.org). In any case, it
would be up to the modern publishers to prove that our examples have
been copied from copyrighted editions.<br>
<br>
So to say no recorded performance is public domain up to now (there has
been a discussion about the earliest, late 19th-century recordings, but
I did not follow the issue). Producing right-free performances (e.g.
with students) may not be easy. There exist softwares that allow a
realistic reproduction of a score without real performer(s); but the
work involved must not be light.<br>
<br>
In all cases, the matter of copyrights rests on intimidation: major
publishers (and public libraries !!!) have means to threaten us to
issues that we cannot face. I see two possibilities:<br>
– we could organize ourselves as a scholarly lobby, able to counter
intimidation;<br>
– we could make our opponents realize that our work actually promotes
their interests. I believe that IMSLP has done a tremendous job to this
effect.<br>
<br>
To sum up: all this is a mess!<br>
<br>
Yours,<br>
<br>
Nicolas Meeùs<br>
Université de Paris Sorbonne<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nicolas.meeus@paris-sorbonne.fr">nicolas.meeus@paris-sorbonne.fr</a><br>
<br>
</font></font><br>
Yuri Broze a écrit :
<blockquote
cite="mid:AANLkTilhjcWX27WMCAhsoKA3QChjZ0Z7RxEHwUgYlhLy@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Just a followup,
I'm not current on this issue, but the legal question as I understand
it relates to whether a MIDI file constitutes a "score" or a
"performance." If it's a score, then this falls under the domain of
publication rights, whereas if it's a performance, then the
restrictions are considerably different. Essentially, playing a MIDI
is
a performance of the work, and therefore rights would go through
ASCAP, BMI, or another performing rights organization -- but only if
it's a *public* performance. There is clearly nothing illegal about a
musician playing a popular hit at home for their friends.
Not an answer, but just another perspective.
Yuri Broze
314.910.3152
1637 N 4th St
Columbus, OH 43201
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Message: 1
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 14:49:58 -0400
From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Scott_Atwell@ferris.edu">Scott_Atwell@ferris.edu</a>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:smt-talk@societymusictheory.org">smt-talk@societymusictheory.org</a>
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] MIDI Files and Copyright
Message-ID:
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:OF07767F41.A6AEBCD4-ON8525772D.00615E95-8525772D.006773BE@ferris.edu"><OF07767F41.A6AEBCD4-ON8525772D.00615E95-8525772D.006773BE@ferris.edu></a>
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Dear Stefan,
Greetings. I would say that there is nothing special about the format.
Briefly, if the underlying work is (C) then the MIDI file is (C) as a
derived work. For example, the melody line to "Yesterday" is (C); if you
add the chords, then even more so. If it is only a short segment, then
under a 4-factor fair use analysis the use -- creating a MIDI version --
might come out okay. Distributing/making available just ups the ante/risk
of getting a Cease & Desist letter.
Kind regards,
Scott D. Atwell, Ph.D.
Professor - Reference Librarian and Liaison for
Art, Music, Philosophy, and Religion
Ferris State University Library for Information, Technology,
and Education (FLITE) Tel.: (231) 591-2948
1010 Campus Drive Fax.: (231) 591-2662
Big Rapids, MI 49307-2279 Email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:atwells@ferris.edu">atwells@ferris.edu</a>
URL: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://library.ferris.edu/scott/ockeghem.html">http://library.ferris.edu/scott/ockeghem.html</a>
From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:smt-talk@societymusictheory.org">smt-talk@societymusictheory.org</a>
Date: 05/24/2010 01:32 PM
Subject: [Smt-talk] MIDI Files and Copyright
Sent by: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:smt-talk-bounces@societymusictheory.org">smt-talk-bounces@societymusictheory.org</a>
I have a lot of MIDI files (actually in .WAV format now) of examples from
my 20th-century book. Most of the music is under copyright. Does anyone on
this list know if it is legal for me to share these files? They are almost
all snippets -- not entire movements.
Thanks.
Stefan Kostka
Professor Emeritus
University of Texas at Austin
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a>
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------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 20:32:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ildar Khannanov <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:solfeggio7@yahoo.com"><solfeggio7@yahoo.com></a>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:smt-talk@societymusictheory.org">smt-talk@societymusictheory.org</a>, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a>
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] MIDI Files and Copyright
Message-ID: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:180617.5738.qm@web45003.mail.sp1.yahoo.com"><180617.5738.qm@web45003.mail.sp1.yahoo.com></a>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Dear Professor Kostka and the List,
?
I have had a conversation with the? copyrhight lawyer at the Kompositor Editions in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the same topic. I wanted to add a selection of musical examples to a book. The lawyer was very strict about it and suggested that the publisher would have to sign a special contract with the labels. I wanted to borrow from several labels, therefore,?it proved to be impractical.?This is an interesting question, though. It seems reasonable nowadays to add some audio files to a printed book. To use Midi versions?cannot solve this problem: it can still constitute copyrhight infgingement and the quality of sound does not make it worth publishing. ?In my experience, the answer was negative.
?
?
Best,
?
Ildar Khannanov
Peabody Conservatory
Johns Hopkins University
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:solfeggio7@yahoo.com">solfeggio7@yahoo.com</a>
--- On Mon, 5/24/10, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com"><skostka@aol.com></a> wrote:
From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com"><skostka@aol.com></a>
Subject: [Smt-talk] MIDI Files and Copyright
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:smt-talk@societymusictheory.org">smt-talk@societymusictheory.org</a>
Date: Monday, May 24, 2010, 9:33 AM
I have a lot of MIDI files (actually in .WAV format now) of examples from my 20th-century book. Most of the music is under copyright. Does anyone on this list know if it is legal for me to share these files? They are almost all snippets -- not entire movements.
Thanks.
Stefan Kostka
Professor Emeritus
University of Texas at Austin
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:skostka@aol.com">skostka@aol.com</a>
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