MPA wants to forbid "lyric and tab sites"

[Deadlift]

"The Music Publishers' Association (MPA) says such unlicensed publication is illegal and that closing websites and fining their owners is insufficient punishment.

MPA president Lauren Keise said: 'throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective'.

Keise added that the photocopier had hit songwriters and composers' incomes but that the Internet 'is taking more of a bite'.

Keise's remarks follow legal action earlier this week against the developers of software that searches the Web for lyrics. Walter Ritter was forced to withdraw one such application, pearLyrics, after receiving a cease and desist notice from record company Warner/Chappell Music.

The president of the National Music Publishers' Association, another US body, backed Keise's call.

'Unauthorised use of lyrics and tablature deprives the songwriter of the ability to make a living, and is no different than stealing,' he said."

From ->http://news.dmusic.com/article/18951

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Read about on a Swedish news site today. Maybe it`s been talked about in another forumpart on ultimate metal.

What do you think about it ?

I think it`s fukin crazy. I would be suprised if anyone here agreed to this proposal.

I know alot of people here want Opeth tabs.

 

[all_sins_undone]

Thats BS

 

[dew]

This would be thrown out of court, because they're not the actual tabs for the song, just people's interpretations of the song. If they published official sheet music and that was converted into a .PDF and made available online, that would be illegal.

Lyrics are another story. You could say that lyrics are copyrighted material, and maybe making the lyrics available might not be fair use, unless you're talking about just a selection or something. The lyrics case would be a very interesting case in court. But if a tab site comes up with even a competent lawyer, the tab case is thrown right out of court.

 

[Jude]

This would be thrown out of court, because they're not the actual tabs for the song, just people's interpretations of the song. If they published official sheet music and that was converted into a .PDF and made available online, that would be illegal.

Lyrics are another story. You could say that lyrics are copyrighted material, and maybe making the lyrics available might not be fair use, unless you're talking about just a selection or something. The lyrics case would be a very interesting case in court. But if a tab site comes up with even a competent lawyer, the tab case is thrown right out of court.

Plus that the guy even started saying photocopiers were cutting into their sales. If they actually took this to court, someone would quickly point out that in order for them to be consistent they would also have to ask for photocopiers to be banned, which is ridiculous.

 

[opeth_353]

LMFAO!
Wait.. am i reading this wrong? If we look up lyrics and sheet music/tabs online.. we're depriving the artists of money? That is utter bullshite! Sometimes the album booklets don't have the lyrics in them, and what happens if you've lost the booklet and want/need to know them? I doubt any recording artist has any qualms about people searching for a copy of their lyrics online.
The tablature thing is just hilariously pointless. If this actually even reaches court i've lost faith in the world haha!

 

[vampyrouss]

Indeed. Its pointless, just because the internet got there before them. It gets everywhere before everyone else, deal with it. And like someone else pointed out, the tabs are just guesswork, and its not like anyone claims its their own work... and if they do we probably won't find it, since we'd be looking for Opeth - Advent, not Chris Smith -Advent or whatever.

Stupid, stupid money grabbing people. And some bands put up tabs for their songs on their own site, like The Berzerker for example. And most bands have the lyrics on their websites anyway.

But I do think we should ban photo copiers anyway, and most certainly printers, even more so printer/scanners. Truely the work of Rolf Harris.

 

[Tubbs]

We had the same thread at the Symphony X forum (and probably more) and I quote myself on this:

I shout blasphemy!!! (People who sue for things like this should be Pwn3d like a N00B by the 1337357 of the 1337!)

Just a fat guy's opinion.

 

[Kenneth R.]

FUCK YOU MPA

 

[Ermz]

The rationale totally eludes me.

So I know how to play Blackwater Park because of MySongBook... oh Noes I r steeling profirst from oeprth!!??!?

 

[dishcloth]

If anything, it's totally counter-productive.

E.g: Kid plays Blackwater Park riff infront of friend that he has learnt from a tab. The friend is like, wtf is that cool riff from? Kid replies Opeth and hence the friend becomes interested and starts buying Opeth cds. Same applies with lyrics. Some people will listen to music just because of the lyrics that go with it. They see cool lyrics as a messenger or AOL screen-name or whatever and ask what band that is from, hear the name or whatever and hence purchase cds. Is it illegal to quote something? Of course not. In effect thats what people are doing when they use lyrics and they never deny where they come from either when asked. Playing riffs, covering songs and reading lyrics doesn't not rob bands of hard earned dollars. If anything it is advertising and I'm sick of these total morons carrying on like its some kind of crime. Regulating, making everything illegal and banning everything and making life suck because you can't even use words that have been used by someone else before you is a crime and makes life less enjoyable. MPA you are a bunch of morons.

 

[Godhead's Lament]

I think this is full of crap. Why would someone ban lyrics?...And they say that it impacts the band's income? Since when do people buy albums for the lyrics?

 

[dishcloth]

Since when do people buy albums for the lyrics?

I definately don't and yeah I agree it's weird. But there are people who are genuinely lyric hunters, some to the point where it becomes more important than the actual music. As funny as it seems, there are people out there.

 

[phagist_]

absolute bs, i spose it will start making people learn by ear

 

[dew]

I think this is full of crap. Why would someone ban lyrics?...And they say that it impacts the band's income? Since when do people buy albums for the lyrics?

When people download the music, the booklet is practically the only incentive to buy the album (provided you have decent computer speakers).

 

[etakistan]

absolute bs, i spose it will start making people learn by ear

No, that should be illegal as well. BAN EARS!





People always think something is going to ruin their sales.

mp3, CDR, cassetes...


But it's rather lolful that bands like Metallica are all against this shit... when their popularity grew so much on underground tape trading.





Of course, the actual manuscripts shouldn't be shared, but tabs are usually wrong, and 99.99% of the time people jsut get them just because they wanna play. NOT MAKE ZOMG ILLEGAL COPIES ON MAH BAND DEMO CEEDEE.




PS, ban singing in the shower.

 

[Godhead's Lament]

When people download the music, the booklet is practically the only incentive to buy the album (provided you have decent computer speakers).

Good point, if they are real fans, though, they will buy the albums.

I am not ashamed to say that when I heard my first Opeth song, I downloaded most of their albums, but overtime, I bought them all because I loved them so much, and I didn't do it because of lyrics either. It all depends on the person of course.

 

[MasterOLightning]

I can only see this being appropriate in the case of bands such as Dream Theater, that have actually published sheet music. In this case, I suppose that online tabs could hurt sales.

Actually, for lyrics or tabs, if a lyrics or tabs website is selling advertising to their site, then they profit off of another band's lyrics or tabs. Not as ridiculous as it sounds.

I came up with this while drunk. Good job Opeth board.

 

[affinityband]

Tabalature isnt very accurate (unless taken directly from a book, in which case that is a breach of copyright, but no one uses it for making money, jut enjoying it) Which means that it is not an exact representation of a song. Also, most bands put the lyrics on their own sites anyway lol....

 

[Disgustipated]

I don't understand this..

oh Noes I r steeling profirst from oeprth!!??!?

..or this

1337357

Will the bands who offer their own lyrics on official websites also be fined?

One thing deadlift forgot to point out was that Lars Ulrich is the principal editor of this website.

 

[Ayr]

If we look up lyrics and sheet music/tabs online.. we're depriving the artists of money? That is utter bullshite!

Id say that, just as illegal downloading, it only makes you spend MORE on buying albums and going to the gigs in the end.
This wont stop the lovely Industry man from sewing folks for the breach of copyright. some statistics here:

The recording industry today unveiled the biggest escalation yet in its campaign against illegal internet file-sharing, announcing over 2,100 new legal cases against individuals and extending the actions to five new countries in Europe, Asia and - for the first time - South America.
(c) IFPI