[Clancy]

I've just gone through the Members' Recordings forum and moved all the threads with attached cover songs into our new Members' Recordings Archive forum here - http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/fo...splay.php?f=93. I've deleted all attachments from those threads but the threads themselves are still there if you want to re-read any of the feedback left.

If I have moved one of your threads into the archive by mistake (if it was indeed an original) please let me know and I can move it back into the active "Members' Recordings forum" ... from there you will have to upload your mp3 file again as the attachment has been removed.

If you have a cover in the archive and would like the thread moved back into the active Members' Recordings forum as you have the tune hosted elsewhere, I can do that for you too.

Also if you notice any covers of yours or anyone elses that are sitll in the Members' Recordings forum, please let me know so I can move it to the archive.

I have left in cover songs that I thought were in the public domain, if you know that they are not, please let me know that too.

Cheers

Clancy

[Fong]

Clancy, as a more classical style guitarist, will I still be able to post pieces?

This is the information that I have found for public domain stuff..

"If the song is written as work-for-hire, anonymously, or under a fictitious name, the copyright will last 100 years from the date the song was written, or 75 years after the date it is first published, whichever is shorter.) After that time is up, the work is considered public domain. For example, a work by Beethoven would be considered Public Domain, but in order to be used in a film or television project, a sound recording of the music must be licensed. In this case, the appropriate license would be a Master Use License. Existing recordings of public domain music generally may not be used without the permission of the owner of the recording."

So we will still be able to post things that were written/published pre 1906?

I ask because you took down my recording of Asturias/Leyenda - Isaac Albeniz but the piece was written and published in 1883, which means by US Copyright law, it is now public domain and there is no copyright held on the music.

If we can prove the piece is older then 100 years, can we post it?

[Fong]

After doing some more research, my other piece by Agustin Barrios Mangore, La Catedral would also be fine to post.

The piece is down as being created in 1921, under the pre-1978 publishing copyright laws, the piece was entitled to 28 years copyright, plus 47 years extension if it was applied for. If we err on the side of caution and assume that the extension was applied for, then the copyright on this material run out in 1996.

Mangore died in 1944. Under the copyright laws for music, his copyright only lasts 50 years after his death, this means it ran out in 1994.

This means his work is no longer copyrighted and is again in the public domain as free to use for the purposes of this site.

Just giving you as much information as you might need.

[Jomi]

Can you clear up a few questions for me please, I used capital letters once for emphasis, not because I'm shouting.

What is meant by 'cover song?'

Under the new rules for posting songs/music you say that the RECORDINGS must be your own, do you mean the material must be you own, i.e the tune and the lyrics?

How do I establish if a song is considered public domain?

Is consent from the owner of the song/music sufficient to allow posting here?

Thanks in advance,

John

[Dewy]

I'm pretty sure that "Cover Song" means performed by other than the original artist or copyright holder.

Like Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf. As near as I can tell, they still own the copyrights to it, and unauthorized reproduction or distribution of their material is forbidden by copyright law.

Thus the folks here would get in trouble for hosting that material. Even if it was a different band (like mine) that performed it... if we're doing it without the copyright holder's permission, we are infringing upon their copyright.

I personally see it as "Paying homage" but that doesn't make the view from the jail cell any prettier.

[allthumbs]

Covers are playing or singing someone else's tunes. Your contemporary folk tunes were covers of pre existing materials. To upload music directly onto this site, they must be all originals.
You can still put up covers by placing a link here to a tune hosted on another site.
When in doubt about whether a tune is public domain, link it from somewhere else just to be safe.
Posting material not your own with the consent of the owner is tricky. The onus is still on the admin for this site if a member misrepresents the consent of the originator of the tune. Admin would have to directly contact the original owner which may not be feasable due to time constraints. I would suggest hosting them on another site and linking it here just like covers. That takes all the guess work out of it and keeps things as simple as possible.

[Clancy]

Hi Fong,

This site gives info on Public Domain. It also has a searchable database... Our site is actually hosted in the US, so we'll follow what is stated on that site. I don't have the definitive answer on any of this. Seems like you have researched it quite a bit judging by what you have posted above, it seems like the compositions you want to post would be fine.

Cheers

Clancy

[Fong]

Might be an idea to stipulate when pieces were written and authors dates?

For instance, in the Austurias piece I would have written.

Asturias - 1883 - Albeniz d1909

Immediately you know the piece was written pre-1922 and is therefore in the Public Domain in the US, for classical pieces this isn't even difficult, the composers of these works are rarely mentioned without their lifespan.

Also it will be somewhat self regulating, since if I were to post a piece, claim it was by someone and post the wrong date, I am sure that another member would be pretty quick to correct me, since with Wiki and other sites, the information isn't difficult to come by, and I am sure there are more members then just me who see a new piece and chase it up to find out more about it and who wrote it. So hopefully wouldn't even mean more work for yourself.

[Clancy]

Not a bad idea Fong. I might add that into the new "Members' Recordings forum" rules.

Thanks for the idea.

Cheers

Clancy