[HANASHIR:16055] RE: Minchag for arrangements

[Adrian Durlester <adrian...>]

Ellen:

While this community was established for sharing, the minhag of the list is
to always respect the songwriter's need for parnassa, to always follow and
respect both Jewish and Civil law when it comes to intellectual property and
copyright.

It is not at all unreasonable to ask other music professionals to pay a fee
for copies of your music. In some cases, discounts are offered to members of
the community, in other cases not. That is for each person to decide. If the
fees one charges are out of line with what others in the community are
charging, that will become apparent over time. Nonetheless, I don't think
anyone would find it inappropriate to charge, at the very least, for the
postage, handling, printing and other costs associated. We've seen fees
ranging from $1.50-$10.00 on this list recently for print copies of
musical/choral arrangements.

On the other hand, there are times and situations when it behooves a
songwriter or arranger to see their work disseminated as widely as
possible--and allowing some free distribution with appropriate restrictions
is sometimes useful. As has often been said on this list, CDs are like
business cards and it sometimes pays to just hand them out. At conferences
and other gatherings, some songwriters and arrangers do give out copies of
their music to their colleagues.

I hope this helps you decide.

Your humble List Owner,

Adrian

Adrian A. Durlester, MTS
E-mail: adrian (at) durlester(dot)com  www.durlester.com
Director of Education & Congregational Life, Bethesda Jewish Congregation,
Bethesda, MD
www.bethesdajewish.com
Co-Director, Hazamir/JTAI Choir of Greater DC
Past Conf Chair, CAJE 27, August 4-8, 2002, Trinity University, San Antonio,
TX
List Owner, hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Jewish Songleaders/Performers List
www.ehavanashira.org
Co-Owner, l-torah (at) shamash(dot)org; Liberal Torah Discussion List


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
shamash(dot)org] On
Behalf Of efleischmann (at) ncjhs(dot)org
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 12:58 AM
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject: [HANASHIR:16053] Minchag for arrangements


Chaverim,

I've only been on this list for a short time, so please pardon the newbie
question.

I am honored that so many want my arrangement of D. Friedman's "Miriam's
Song".  What is the custom regarding sharing of arrangements?  Are fees
usually charged, or just postage?  When I am using my music publishing
alias, I always charge.  But if there is a more chesedik minchag among this
list, then I wish to follow it.

Shabbat shalom,

Ellen Fleischmann
Choral Music Teacher
New Community Jewish High School
West Hills, CA
efleischmann (at) ncjhs(dot)org 






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