Why copyright is crazy in the USA

[uncloned]

Yesterday I finally received sheet music I ordered about 3 weeks ago.

I opened up the package and looked at the music and on the first page is this notice:

Unauthorized copying, arranging, adapting or recording is an infringement of copyright. Infringers are liable under the law.

(I summarize below)

So.... I called up the place and asked what good is it for me to buy your sheet music if I can't do anything with it?

She said - perhaps we are talking apples and oranges here - what are you planing to do?

I said I wanted to record my performance of the piece.

She said ok, what are you going to do with it?

I said at best I'll post it on youtube for free.

Her response was to transfer me to the licensing department.


------------------

So its like - what the hell?

They didn't even write the frikken music, somehow got the copyright in 1960 - and the gov't let them renew in 1994 and now, in theory, I can't share anything I do with the sheet music.

[Louigi Verona]

Wow.
I mean... wow.
I really did not know it is that serious.
Oh boy.

[uncloned]

yeah

I don't know what to think.

It feels like I was robbed of the value of my purchase.

[uncloned]

see page 4

http://www.rbs2.com/copyrm.pdf

[Saga Musix]

Ok, right. So in the worst case, you will have to pay for posting that video on youtube, meaning t hat you will have to pay for reading the notes on a damn sheet of paper which was printed in some random cheap printing press. Yeeeeeeeeah right. Crazy people...

[uncloned]

my intention was to purchase the sheet music and then put it into my computer so I can hear as well as see the music as it is performed.

And then after doing all of that work share it with people like the folks at modplug.

So... this is totally disappointing.

[Really Weird Person]

That sounds rather disappointing indeed. From the way your messages read, it seems that you will have quite a difficult time making your own version of the piece as well.

[uncloned]

From the way your messages read, it seems that you will have quite a difficult time making your own version of the piece as well.

well yes, it is a very complex contrapuntal modern classical piece. The level of detail is deep - every few measures of some of the 5 pieces I bought change tempo and / or expression. There are instance of silent notes (that still will ring on a piano through sympathetic vibration) and lines doubled at the octave above at half the volume of the main line.

I have the piano version of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A35pZl5VxoA

for instance.

It is very unique music - it breaks common practice rules - has its own internal logic I wish to try to understand. I do not believe this is atonal - its just not your run of the mill common chords.

It may sound really dissonant to your ears - it does to mine - but some of the textures are just beautiful in places.

[uncloned]

you may be interested to know that this classical composer never studied music theory - and yet taught composition at the University of Miami for a few years in his later life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Ruggles

[Louigi Verona]

Funny that it happened, but I was talking to my friend about this the other day. He is a professional musician and he is very careful about copyright questions, meaning he hasn't made up his mind yet. At the same time he is more inclined towards pro-copyright views, his arguments being that if someone cannot make a living off of art - art will disappear. At the same time he agrees with a lot of my arguments. He says that classical music requires full dedication. I say that classical composers rarely have difficulty funding their work, with academic music institutions being very developed in most countries and funded at least by government. He agrees.

He showed me sheet music of some recorder piece. It is a unique piece, an arrangement of some 14th century composition for the recorder.
And he tells me, emotionally - "look at how much hard work this person has put into this work. If I buy it and then just share with people - next time this person will not be able to do this work, knowing he will not get his money."

True. True. But if the need to make a living off of something you do kills the reason you do it - the loop has to be broken. Somehow.

[uncloned]

I think it should be broken when the composer is dead, like in my case.

I respect that I should not scan and post the sheet music to the internet.

But telling me I can't preform it for my friends on the net is sheer lunacy.

The lady mentioned "mechanical copyright" if I posted it to the net.

In other words they think they have (some) rights to my performance of the sheet music.

How can this be true in a rational mind I don't know.

[Louigi Verona]

True. Although if I buy sheet music, I should be allowed to non-commercially share it. You see, I've been down that logical reasoning before. Once you do not allow full non-commercial sharing, you eventually come to this absurdity. It actually comes from denying people this simple freedom to non-commercially share any information. But not many see this. Still, with specialized things like sheet music it may be possible to have a moral code of buying a copy if you have the money.

[Louigi Verona]

Listened to some music on YouTube. Certainly interesting. My wife said - it is very nervous. Perhaps. I think a lot of XX century classical music is nervous. I wonder why.

[uncloned]

I dunno

the bomb

WW I
WW II
cold war
Korean war
Vietnam war
Afghanistan war
Pakistan and India wars
middle east wars


no idea as to why it could be nervous :-)

[Louigi Verona]

Heavinly music of Bach was not written during the calm times. Each century has wars of its own - they just get forgotten quickly.