[HANASHIR:5235] More Copyright Ideas and Issues

[Adrian Durlester <durleste...>]

I wished to add a few pieces to this discussion. I was reminded that much of
the music we are talking about here is liturgical in nature, and would be
performed or used in liturgical settings for which there would be no royalty
or compensation. In those cases, it really is just a matter of proper
attribution and name recognition. When congregations assemble a homemade
shiron, it should always include proper attribution. If it includes sheet
music, then permission should be secured. Even simple songsheets should
contain proper attributions, as well as all service bulletins/programs, etc.
When a songleader or educator teaches a song in class or assembly, the
composer should be identified. These are all issues that are relevant to the
proposed campaign.

It was my wife, Karen Daniel, who reminded me that much of her music is
designed for use in liturgical setting, and, in those cases, the primary
interest is that she be identified as the songwriter, since there would be
no compensation gained from the use of the song.

Now, in the case of printed choral or solo music, there is potential
financial gain. And there is a big problem (at least perceptually) with
congregations being able to afford to buy enough copies of all the printed
music they use for their choirs. Though I am not convinced this is really
true (one less fancy doo-dah somewhere else could probably cover the cost
and then some) I do think we should examine the idea of a standardized way
to allow photocopying by selling the original copy at a specified rate to
allow a certain number of copies to be made, or, alternatively, offering a
severe discount on purchases after the first copy when purchased in larger
quantities, or when combined with a large order of many songs. (I do think
the overall order size could be counted-but this would require all the
composers agreeing to this concept.)

In the case of printed solo music, I do not see how any cantor or soloist
could make the case that it is too expensive to purchase the music rather
than buy a copy (either at congregational or their own expense.) But if
anyone wishes to challenge this with sound reasoning, I'd love to hear it.

Adrian

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Adrian A. Durlester  -  durleste (at) home(dot)com
http://members.home.net/durleste/
Student, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
http://divinity.lib.vanderbilt.edu/vds/vds-home.htm
Music Director, Congregation Micah, Nashville, TN http://www.micahnash.org/
Home phone (615) 646-9788 Nextel cel-phone (615) 207-2661
You can page me from http://www.nextel.com
List-Owner for hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Co-Owner for L-Torah (at) 
shamash(dot)org
http://uahc.org/hanashir
Editor, Bim Bam (for Torah Aura Productions) http://www.torahaura.com/
Alternate Email: aad (at) iname(dot)com  adriand (at) aol(dot)com

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