Theft? Most people will not (want to) understand that. That is such a harsh word. Usually when theft occurs somebody has less than before. When I "steal" by means of performing a song, nobody has less than before. It is such an altruistic thing because many people have more, it is in the best interest of the public. (Ain't I nice?) That is what many seem to understand.

Actually it is in the same category as fare evasion, fiscal evasion -- it is fraudulent evasion, an illegal behaviour subject to prosecution.

Copyright for somebody's lifespan plus 75 years? Well, we could discuss that. Preparing for a seminar about copyright I have read somewhere -- sorry, don't recall where so I can't give a source -- that the timeframe for copyright was to cover the next two generations of the authors. (Similar to handing down a business to your children.) What was not intended is that authors lease/sell/give away their rights to a company. (I also a long time ago read somwhere that, in the U.S., transfering a copyright was legal only for some 20 years. After that the rights were transfered back to the original owner.)


Others have written about the process. So if you perform in public, create a play list of the songs you played including as much information as possible about the song and send it to the respective PRO. Then the owner of the copyright has a chance to get some money. You need to compile the data only once and then reuse them. Most of the performers will not play a hundred songs today and a different hundred tomorrow and on the next day only songs that have not been played the two days before.


Side note: I try to use the PRO work number, but sometimes this number is hard to find -- or would you have thought that Killin' Time (and all the other songs of the album with the same name) by Clint Black had been registered with the German GEMA instead of BMI where all his others songs are? A lot of songs are meanwhile given an ISWC number (http://www.iswc.org/).



Last edited by GHinCH; 06/10/14 12:35 AM.
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