how do websites sell digital classical music when it isn’t theirs and the composer has passed on?
Posted on Jan 27, 2010 under Digital news and reports |I was looking at a site where they were selling "claire de lune" digital download. How do they take someone elses work and sell it as if it were their own? link is below
http://www.virtualsheetmusic.com/LookInside/Lune.html
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
This is referring to ownership of music property rights.
However, in this case, this is called an "arrangement." That means someone took an existing piece of work and altered in some way - they could’ve made it easier, more difficult, transcribed the piece so different instruments can play it, and so on. That arrangement becomes theirs - all credit is given to the original composer (note at the top of the page it says "by Debussy" at the end of the title). If it is a piece of work owned by someone already, and they want to make a profit on their arrangement, they need to obtain permission. For that, I’m not fully knowledgeable on how it works so hopefully someone will come along and explain that in more detail for you. For the most part, if you arrange something not-for-profit and meant for educational purposes, it does not infringe on property rights. However, again, I am not an expert - a legal professional is the one to ask.
As for property rights, people can own music even when the composer has passed on. For example, let’s say John Smith wrote a piano duet that becomes really popular. He passes away and his daughter now owns the rights to the music. She has the say on who can play it, sell it, make a profit on arrangements, and who gets the property rights when she dies.
So, this person is not taking credit for Debussy’s work. You either become a member (costs about $38), or buy the piece itself (3.99). From what I read on the website legal notice, the site takes a commission on any sheet music profit. I’m sure they have a legal counsel that makes sure the works do not infringe upon copyright laws.
There are some pieces that are accessible to the public, free to distribute and arrange - but it’s few and far between and most likely from current-day composers attempting to get their work "around."
Again, I am not an expert, but I can tell you - arrangements give full credit to the original composer, profit or not. Consider posting this on the legal board of Y!A.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Easy, because Debussy died in 1918, the copyright on his works has expired already. The copyright generally ends 70 years after the original author’s death. Once the copyright expires, the work is in the public domain which means it belongs to everyone. So anyone could transcribe and sell it legally. The fee is for the work done creating and distributing the transcription of the work.
So, you wouldn’t be able to sell transcriptions or arrangements of, say, Rachmaninoff’s works legally yet because he died in 1943. The copyright for his works will expire in 2013. (Actually, the copyright law changed several times, complicating things. So any works that he composed before 1923 are already in the public domain. Works composed after 1923 will come into the public domain at the end of 2013.)
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Its when a editor makes a few changes and it legally becomes their property. go to a website called imslp, international music score library project, they tons of classical music for free!!!!!!
enjoy!
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Because it is now public domain.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
They are selling an arrangement — edited edition — of Claire de Lune. You may have noticed Ramond Banning’s name at the upper left of the first page. It is perfectly legal to arrange and charge for compositions that are in the public domain.
In the case of copyrighted works, a site might have licensed the right to sell sheet music,
Why does this worry you so much? As far as I know they are still selling copies of all the great classic novels. Or are you really going to read all sixteen books of Tolstoy’s War and Peace on your computer screen along with the twenty-eight chapters of the two epilogs on the Project Gutenberg site?
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2600/2600-h/2600-h.htm
… that thing reads like a Russian novel!
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
If there is not a living relative of the composer (and most classical composers are dead with no family tree of relatives and there was no copyright laws then) then a piece becomes public domain after 70 years.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Now literally, the reason why they are selling them are because some of the composers’ copyrights had expired and hence some of the music had fallen into public domain.
But not all classical works are in the public domain.
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