Copyright Infringement or Fair Use for Educational Purposes?

[tesla]

Music Publishers' Associations are contending that it is illegal to publish individuals' written interpretations of songs (e.g. tablature).

I'm really curious as to what my artistic friends think about this.

I know that I have made extensive use of free online tab myself in the past; it tends to be how I learn to play new chords and new songs. Of course, if published sheet music is available it is preferable, being more accurate, but most of the tab I use is for songs for which it's *not* available.

(In some cases I even pester my favorite musicians about when they will be releasing their long-awaited songbooks, but it hasn't availed me anything yet, now has it, Stephen?)

Comments

[tesla-aldrich.livejournal.com]

I find that tablature - the free tab that I've been using, anyway - is often a pretty loose representation of the music in question. Its rhythmic cues, for example, tend to be vague at best.

So if a more or less vague and potentially highly inaccurate transcription violates the spirit of copyright, then what doesn't? If you teach me how to play someone else's song, is that okay? What if you e-mail the chords to me?

I'm honestly not trying to be difficult, I'm trying to figure out where I'm comfortable with having the line drawn.

FWIW, I'm fanatical about buying the recorded music that I enjoy rather than taking unauthorized copies, precisely because of the livelihood question. Also, it's in my own best interest to pay for the stuff: I enjoy the music, I pay for it, my favorite musicians eat, flourish and live to play another day. Besides which, I think the creators of the music I enjoy deserve my money. (This goes for all of them, no matter how popular or obscure.) The only time that I break this rule is if the music I want is out of print and unavailable.

In principle I feel the same way about written music. In practice, however, the equation looks very different, as relatively little of what I want is published.

Also, I absolutely agree that approaching the artist and asking permission to transcribe is the ideal solution. And bless the fortunate and kind artist who has the time and the inclination to answer.

Finally: yeah, I, too thought it was pretty weird that they decided to get all het up about this when they did and not before. I wonder what happened in whose boardroom to inspire it?