[HANASHIR:14351] online sheet music at totshabbat

[SELINGER <SELINGER...>]

A letter for Eric and all of Hanashir:

In posting public domain music online I aim to comply with both letter and
spirit of US copyright law. Eric is right, it's illegal for me to post
music which copies verbatim detailed arrangements from the Complete
Shireinu. I must offer my apologies for stepping over the legal limits 
and will take corrective action right away.

When I post public-domain music I will include only the bare basics: 
melody, lyrics, and guitar chords, with no other markings (e.g. for
tempo and dynamics.) That is all I have included in the pages I typeset
and I will ask volunteers helping out to do the same. Tonight I'll attempt
to remove all extra markings from the pages already online. 

I will also add links to show site visitors where they can purchase copies
of the Complete Shireinu.

Eric, will that be sufficient to address your concerns?  

The Complete Shireinu is a hugely valuable resource and a must-have for
every Jewish songleader in America. Unfortunately, its high price tag ($59
plus shipping) makes it impractical for every Jewish family to own a copy. 

By contrast, a free online archive of Jewish music provides wide access at
an amazingly low cost. For a total investment of $65 out-of-pocket I've
purchased a whole year's worth of web-hosting and distributed a modest but
growing library of Jewish music to literally thousands of people around
the world, in more than two dozen countries, reaching well beyond the
hanashir community.  It's the best $65 I've ever spent.  If I had used it
to purchase traditional media, I could have bought ONE copy of the
Complete Shireinu *OR* four CD's.  That's quite a price comparison.

In other words, technology changes everything. That being said, I will
endeavor to stay always strictly within the bounds of copyright law, and
will include promotion of The Complete Shireinu along with promotion of
the many artists' CD's on the site. If problems remain after I make these 
changes tonight please let me know.

-Robin Selinger
 robin (at) totshabbat(dot)com

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