Topic: Guitar Tablatures/Lyrics Sites Now Illegal

[Snowthrower]

The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics.

The US Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents 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".

Bitter battles

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."

   
Music publishers and songwriters will consider all tools under the law to stop this illegal behaviour
David Israelite
National Music Publishers' Association
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.

Learn

"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.

'No alternative'

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."

A Warner Chappell statement said the company wanted to ensure songwriters were "fairly compensated for their works and that legitimate sites with accurate lyrics are not undermined by unlicensed sites".

"We have requested that PearWorks provide us with information regarding the sources of their lyrics, and have further asked that they discontinue the service if these sources are operating without a licence."

This is 100% pure B.S.

Pretty soon humming songs or simply singing them if your not the artist is going to be illegal.

Jail time for wanting to learn how to play or sing a song?!

I seriously hope someone decides to fight this, because this is just not right.

[Rocko]

This has to be a joke of some kind.

[IceFox]

This is 100% pure B.S.

Pretty soon humming songs or simply singing them if your not the artist is going to be illegal.

Jail time for wanting to learn how to play or sing a song?!

I seriously hope someone decides to fight this, because this is just not right.

[snapback]265522[/snapback]

This has to be a joke of some kind.

[snapback]265526[/snapback]

[williambob286]

The United States gets stupider.

BIG ::Dolphin Noise::!

Imagine this: 51,300,000 websites are lyric sites. THE GOVERNMENT SUCKZ!

Should be this:

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

[Patback399]

Dang. Most bands I listen to have either a mumbling or drunk singing voice. I depend on lyrics sites to know what they're saying!

[Snowthrower]

I dont think the BBC jokes around: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm

[IZ]

So this explains why I couldn't find any tabs the other day...

Honestly, it's not going to do anything. People will just tab songs out and spread them across forums.

[Snowthrower]

So this explains why I couldn't find any tabs the other day...

Honestly, it's not going to do anything. People will just tab songs out and spread them across forums.

[snapback]265541[/snapback]

Ultimate-Guitar.com is still up and will stay up since its hosted and managed in Russia.

[Elizabeth Rose]

This is retarded.

[sponge monkey100]

Dang. Most bands I listen to have either a mumbling or drunk singing voice. I depend on lyrics sites to know what they're saying!

[snapback]265538[/snapback]

same here
 I have some lyric sites saved on my harddrive man that sucks

[Seraphi]

We are collapsing into our own end, our own rebellion against ourselves.

But why lyrics sites? :glare:  

[super_sayian_spongebob]

My God, lyric sites are helpful, I mean especially when you want to know what the songs is about, your hard of hearing, and the song itself is either too loud or too fast and you want to know the words, lyric sites help you there. Man Snowthrower could be right, next time humming or singing a copyrighted song will soon be illegal.  

Crazy America.....

[UltraSpongeyDude]

What's the world coming to? Soon its going to be like that episode of the Simpsons where they got fined for singing christmas carols, because they didnt own them. And jail time? Thats the stupidest thing I've ever heard!

[IZ]

So this explains why I couldn't find any tabs the other day...

Honestly, it's not going to do anything. People will just tab songs out and spread them across forums.

[snapback]265541[/snapback]

Ultimate-Guitar.com is still up and will stay up since its hosted and managed in Russia.

[snapback]265545[/snapback]

Yeah, guitar and bass tabs are going to be great for a drummer. :tongue:

[Rocko]

I hate this new law, pretty soon it will be illegal to listen to music loudly, or simply sing along to it becasue it's breaking a copyright law of somekind.