Re: HANASHIR digest 126

[Rich Glauber <dkrasnow...>]

I'm getting confused as to what our position is re: copyright laws and using
other people's material.  Example...Tom Lehrer writes a funny song (Hanukah in
Santa Monica) and publishes it.  Do we then have the right to pass it around
cyber space, use it for our own purposes, sing it in our communities, perform it
in our shows etc.?  What does the original artist get out of the deal?  
(zilch!) 

Now a list member wants the chords to Julie Silver's tune.  Doesn't Julie have a
song book out?.  Isn't that the way to go?  Spend the money, and in doing so,
show the respect (and cash) that the songwriters deserve.  

I think that we, of all people, should be attuned to the issues of copyrighting,
and the crediting our fellow artists.  Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I
think that we're being quite cavalier when we throw around other people's lyrics
and chord changes with little or no regard for the artist.

Comments?