Klarinet Archive - Posting 000037.txt from 2010/07
From: "James Sclater" <sclater@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Sheet music copyright
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:05:00 -0400
Hooray for Kevin Fay. Copying is copying, no matter the technology. Stealin=
g is stealing. As a composer who makes a small portion of his income from w=
riting, my bottom line is this; if there are 500 copies of one of my works =
out in public use, I would like to be paid for all 500 of them. Persons usi=
ng xeroxed copies have come to me for coaching on some of my works. They t=
hought nothing of it. If I give it away, that's another matter, but it shou=
ld be my decision.
James Sclater
James S. Sclater
Professor of Music
Mississippi College
601-925-3445
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>>> kevin.fay.home@-----.net 07/05/10 12:46 PM >>>
Joseph Wakeling posted: =
<<<Let's be clear that I distinguish between commercial distribution of
_printed_ sheet music and non-commercial, private distribution of electronic
files. There's no reason not to maintain publishers' and composers'
exclusive right to control _commercial_, rather than private, distribution
of their work.>>>
This is a false distinction, Joseph. "Private" distribution of sheet music
- and recordings - most definitely reduces demand for the commercially
published stuff, hitting the composer square in the pocketbook. This is
precisely why Jason Robert Brown took the time to search himself on the
"share" sites.
Copying is copying is copying. It doesn't matter *how* the copying is done.
Clicking the "send" button on a computer is no different than hitting the
green "go" button on a Xerox(tm) machine. Modern computer technology has
made stealing easier - doesn=92t make it right.
It's true that some artists chose to participate in public "sharing" of
their work:
<<<One has to be careful about equating "copying" with "stealing" -- there
are plenty of examples from history of composers finding other people using
their work one way or another without permission, and being delighted by it.
Think of Mozart, after the premi=E8re of The Marriage of Figaro, writing to
his father about how everywhere in town people were singing arias from
Figaro, street musicians were performing tunes from Figaro -- "It is a great
triumph for me!">>>
This is no different from the Grateful Dead allowing/endorsing distribution
of bootleg recordings. It's a model they believed in. It's also one that
they *chose* to participate in.
You prove my point in your discussion of Mozart:
<<<Mozart recognized that the publicity from all these "unauthorized" uses
of his work was worth far, far more than any financial return he might have
been extract from these people . . . . If he'd been able to get a penny from
everyone involved it might have added up to a bit, but it wouldn't have been
worth the effort, it would have reduced the amount of publicity and
alienated people with a genuine love for his music, and in any case the
amount of money involved was far less than that available to him through
other means (new commissions, public performances...) which this kind of
public activity helped him to secure.>>>
Jason Robert Brown *wants* that penny. Anyone who sings his song at an
audition should most definitely pay $3.99 to purchase the sheet music for
it. Whether or not it's the most effective or efficient way to maximize his
income should be *his* decision, not the thieves'. =
Remember how the ASCAP was formed? Early on, founding member Victor Herbert
brought a lawsuit against Shanley's Restaurant for refusing to pay royalties
for public performance. The fight took two years and went to the Supreme
Court. ASCAP prevailed. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the decision of
the Court: "If music did not pay, it would be given up. Whether it pays or
not, the purpose of employing it is profit and that is enough."
If Oliver Wendell Holmes isn't enough of a legal authority, let's try
someone higher up the food chain. Exodus 20:15 - "Thou shalt not steal."
kjf
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