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[<...>Personally I can’t see why it’s illegal for someone to do a copy then email it to a friend. No money is changing hands.<...>



Money changing hands has absolutely nothing to do with it. If you sing "Happy Birthday" to your loved one in the privacy of your own USA home without paying a fee to Warner Chappell you are breaking the copyright laws and could technically be put in jail for 5 years and/or pay a quarter of a million dollar fine ($250,000.00) plus Warner Chappell's attorney fees. Not that anybody is going to do that - it would be bad publicity for Warner. (If a business does it the jail term and penalties can be doubled.)

Giving away a song with a melody or signature lick is against the law - period. It doesn't matter if money is changing hands or not.

So before sharing songs you must consider:

  • The likelihood of being caught (the risk)- admittedly very small unless ASCAP, BMI or one of the others decide to make an example out of you
  • The possible penalties if you are caught
  • Your own moral ethics - do unto others as you would have them do to you?
  • Your personal reputation with others


I don't agree with all the provisions of the copyright laws, -- but the corporate entities that spend millions of dollars on Super PACs want to get something back from their investment (tacit bribe), and so we are saddled with very strict laws and regulations that favor the corporation, not the constituent.

If I were benevolent dictator, things would be much different (no I'm not running for the job and will not accept it even if nominated). If I were benevolent dictator, the greedy robber barons who are now running this country would probably assassinate me.

And I am not about to tell you what you should or should not do, except, please don't share my style files as I don't make that much money and live paycheck to paycheck like everybody else.

Funny thing about to me is this:
  • If I were to invent something that would cure cancer, I'd get 17 years of patent protection before it fell in the public domain.
  • If I write a simply one-chord song with a 6 word lyric, I am guaranteed protection for the rest of my life and my heirs (or Warner Chappell if they bought it from my heirs) would get 75 years of protection after I die.

To me this says that a one-chord song is more important under the law than a cure for cancer.

How about you?



Notes...Let me clear a few things up...just for the record.

Under the Copyright Act, criminal sanctions are only available when the distribution of copyrights material includes a profit motive. So, no...singing Happy Birthday won't get anyone sent to the big house. (-:

Ditto re: giving away music. It CAN be against the law but it cannot be criminal.

Also, suggesting that the Copyright act is essentially for the benefit of big corporations is WAY off the mark. Corporations don't write music...people do and the songwriters have exactly the same protections under the Act as the corporate publishers do. When people steal music, they are stealing it from human beings....MANY, MANY of whom are not wealthy.

Just a bit of inowledge I've picked up after 15+ years as a music publisher.

Best,
Jim
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Notes