IMSLP : The Way Ahead

[pianolasociety]

The IMSLP is the greatest musical resource on the web. It is an invaluable resource to people worldwide. It is an intellectual resource and an artistic resource. It is a resource for the generation of today and tomorrow.

The IMSLP is a public library and it's founders and contributors are on a par with the great philanthropists of the 19th century who sought to make eduction universal by making the cost to the public precisely zero.

In 2007 charging money for public domain material is simply putting a premium on knowledge. If we strive to make our societies advanced and intelligent we cannot ever permit this. This is the great strength of IMSLP.

The Universal Edition Cease-and-Desist letter ONLY refers to the composers where they properly have rights. They are being entirely fair stating their position and the letter is an entirely standard lawyers letter (I know as I work in law!) Universal Edition, like any company, doesn't like to see its property stolen. The company has paid for certain rights and they are theirs for the duration. By dealing with this filter problem (and I'm sure there will be now much free technical assistance offered!) the matter would be solved. Where publishers make their money is often in part hire and I suppose they are rightfully very concerned as it is only a matter of time before some idiot posts copyright orchestral parts for valuable copyright material, some other idiot burns a few copies off and chucks them on eBay and that's the end of profits. It also means that ultimately there's less money in the pot for new composers to be taken seriously by the big houses.

The easiest solution is not just to take the site down : call the law firm and ask what their client requires, meet those reasonable demands then move on. The only way to solve problems is to meet them head-on. Another possible alternative is contact the people at www.archive.org or upload the material to them. The first thing to do when you get a lawyers letter is to read it calmly. In perspective it's only a very small demand and not an unreasonable one. It is not worth destroyinging all this work for. Really. You owe it to the memory and music of all those long-deceased composers whose works would never see the light of day if it were not for IMSLP. Unless you distribute the music and people play it there is nothing and their lives may well have never happened.

IMSLP is national, international. Like music it knows no language barriers and it is the way ahead. Don't just give in. At moments like this you can see just how many hidden silent people there are out there who support IMSLP - thousands and thousands and thousands. In the real world it is taken very very seriously. For classical music it is the most valuable educational resource in the world. Perhaps you don't realize just how important it now is! Take up all the offers of help, call the lawyers, get it back up running and take your rightful place in music history. Don't hide from the problems. Your name should be in the next edition of Groves.


sincerely



Adam Ramet
committee : Player Piano Group
http://www.playerpianogroup.org.uk

[Vivaldi]

I understand perfectly what their demands are. My only wish is that they disclose the year of publication of the works which they claimed are still under copyright by the UE and IMSLP has hosted. I am just merely ensuring that they have a legal merit to their claims and not just making one out of a work published before or in 1956, otherwise, their proposed lawsuit would just get thrown out of court. I hope I'm making myself clear on this.