More threats from "Big Music"

[P. Aaron]

For the most part, I always consult the recording first when I have to learn a song. For one, you get the tone, feel, and overall picture of the song. But once in a while, even I have to look at TAB because musically some things just get played too fast for me to interpret it correctly.

There are a few sites I have been using over the past years and this notice came up at my usual TAB haunt:

July 17, 2006

To all "Guitar Tab Universe" visitors:

The company which owns this website has been indirectly threatened (via our ISP) with legal action by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) as well as the Music Publishers' Association (MPA) on the basis that sharing tablature constitutes copyright infringement. At what point does describing how one plays a song on guitar become an issue of copyright infringment? This website, among other things, helps users teach eachother how they play guitar parts for many different songs. This is the way music teachers have behaved since the first music was ever created. The difference here is that the information is shared by way of a new technology: the Internet.

When you are jamming with a friend and you show him/her the chords for a song you heard on the radio, is that copyright infringement? What about if you helped him/her remember the chord progression or riff by writing it down on, say, a napkin... infringement? If he/she calls you later that night on the phone or e-mails you and you respond via one of those methods, are you infringing? I don't know... but I would really like to know. If anyone has information on this, please email SEE WEB SITE.

Apparently, the NMPA/MPA believes that the Internet may be on the foul side of the legality line they would like to draw here. For me, I see no difference. It's teachers educating students and covered as a 'fair use' of the tablature. The teachers here don't even get paid nor do the students have to pay this website to access the lessons.

An attack on this website is really an attack on every one of you who have told someone (in person, or via the written word, telephone, or e-mail) how you play a song on guitar. And who, especially among small websites, has the deep pockets to fight the NMPA/MPA? They use scare tactics while there is, in fact, no legal precedent on this matter (to the best of our knowledge). If you are interested in expressing your opinion to the NMPA/MPA, contact them via their respective websites. Please do not resort to vulgar language or insults.

Millions of people use the Internet to learn guitar, in one form or another. It appears the NMPA/MPA and their members do not want to support us and help us further our education. To you visitors from outside the USA or UK, can you find your favorite artists' "official sheet music" at your local music store? Even in the United States and United Kingdom, we often can not. The NMPA/MPA have a choice to make: either they support us as aspiring guitarists, or they choose to alienate their customer base. To date, not one sheet music publisher has contacted this website to either inquire as to our activities or to express interest in any type of dialogue or collaboration whatsoever. All we deserve is a cold, indirect, impersonal threat without any explanation? They should embrace new technologies or else become relics of the old economy.

Since I'm now 'worried' about working around tabs at all, I'm in a tough situation! Luckily, I'm fairly confident that if I alone listen to a song and then figure out how to play it by ear, I will then be able to enjoy using that knowledge to practice and improve my guitar playing skills. Is that what is necessary for everyone to do? Work these things out alone? What a sad situation.

Sincerely,
Rob Balch

Manager of "Guitar Tab Universe"

Perhaps they want "their cut" of cover band music? Heck, if anything this helps the music industry by keeping alive many songs that fall off radio playlists. But I am sure someone somewhere is being harmed by this un-authorized use of tabulature...right?

[P. Aaron]

SO I go looking for the intro to a Hollies song and here's what the page displays.

[thebassclef]

THAT'S ****** UP!!!! Many of the people playing today started off playing Covers of their favorite songs, and many used tabs.

Try this site for your tabs:
http://www.bassmasta.net/



Mod note:

Cover ALL profanity with asterisks!

[vindy500]

try ultimate guitar

[thebassclef]

MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.

He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal".

Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".

They are going to DESTROY the music. Let's face it, most of us will never be famous and make millions of dollars doing what we love, but we do it because we LOVE it.

Next they will start to target sites like TB because we made mention of "How to get Jaco's Sound"

[P. Aaron]

Originally Posted by thebassclef

They are going to DESTROY the music. Let's face it, most of us will never be famous and make millions of dollars doing what we love, but we do it because we LOVE it.

I doubt that they'll "destroy music" but they're not making any friends.

They're probably looking at the bottom line of the publishing business: tab & song books, and thinking there's more revenue to be made if they go after the online sites.

It looks and seems 'cheap' of them to do this. The Big, bad company against the dude in his basemnt.

[NJL]

Good, maybe people will start to get educated on their respective instruments..

If you need "Long Cool Woman", I may have charted that one out a few years ago (just don't tell the Nazi's!!!)

[StarMountainKid]

This is what is happening as our country becomes The Corporate States of America.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Originally Posted by StarMountainKid

This is what is happening as our country becomes The Corporate States of America.

+1! though its not "becomes" its "is"

sometimes if a tab is really hard to find/figure on my own I will find a midi sound file and use a software converter to transfer it into notation. Its not always accurate, that's for sure, but it gives me a place to start.

Try as they might, ultimately I dont think they will be able to banish tab from the internet. It just takes a few private users to have a website(s) with TAB on them. They havent stopped music downloading (yet). I think thats much more of a bigger battle for them.

[s.m.80808]

Maybe people are going to have to just learn by ear from now on... not so bad when you think about it.

[thebassclef]

Originally Posted by s.m.80808

Maybe people are going to have to just learn by ear from now on... not so bad when you think about it.

But with some of the older recordings, the bass is lost in the mix and is hard to hear to get even an idea.

I agree that people should learn their instruments, but for al the scales, theory, and technique I know, I still use Tabs for a starting place alot of times.

[Woodchuck]

It ain't like the artists are getting the money anyway! Think about it: most of the newer songs, on the business side, have been taken care of by the artists. Newer artists are coming into the game with more edcucation and lessons learned from others before them. Why do you think most of the new artists let you download thier new songs? They own their publishing, so they don't mind. These companies are trying to make money from the publishing that they stole from the older artists back in the day. If some of these sites only posted newer tabs, you probably wouldn't hear a peep from these companies. Making people learn their instruments is not the point. It's the overall picture of what's going on here. I don't use tabs, and never really cared for them, but this stinks. I don't need for someone to ruin the thing I like, before I get mad. I see this train a comin', and the trip ain't gonna be pleasant one!

[s.m.80808]

Originally Posted by thebassclef

But with some of the older recordings, the bass is lost in the mix and is hard to hear to get even an idea.

I agree that people should learn their instruments, but for al the scales, theory, and technique I know, I still use Tabs for a starting place alot of times.

I didn't mean to sound like a music snob when I posted that. I know there have been many people who have already made the argument against tabs. I don't know which recordings you are referring to, but there is a prgram called Transcribe! which allows you to isolate and boost certain frequencies as well as slow down the music.

Another problem I have seen with tabs is that they are often wrong.

I will leave it at that since that isn't the point of the post.

I just was trying to look at the bright side of things.

Ultimately, if someone records and it can be played no material is ever safe from being copied. I do think that the guys on top go overboard trying to control what they see as their stake in the profits.

[chuck953688]

I believe that Ultimate-Guitar is immune from all of this, because they pay royalties of some sort to record companies to keep themselves out of hot water.

[thebassclef]

So, if THEY get there way, we may end up either having to pay per tab or join these sites for a monthly fee. That would not be so bad, if the tabs were ALWAYS 100% Correct and tabbed from notation.

Another note. What's to stop them from coming after Cover Bands in the near future?

[Woodchuck]

Originally Posted by thebassclef

Another note. What's to stop them from coming after Cover Bands in the near future?

They already do. They shake down the club owners who hire cover bands.

[lbanks]

More fun from the battlefront...
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/58901/re...rtunities.html
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/88614/ri...is-not-ok.html


seriously, we gotta get the lawyers out of music... unless they're play it.

[Bard2dbone]

There was a line in a movie once that went something like: "Lawyers are like nuclear weapons. If the other guy has 'em, you've gotta have 'em too. But if anybody ever uses one, it screws up everything."

It's way too close to reality. I'm just waiting for the RIAA to start sending shock troops into peoples houses to shake them dowm for humming tunes.

Yes that was the most ridiculously extreme thing I could think of along the lines of what they are actually doing. Does that mean I would be surprised if I heard it was actually happening? Not very.

[morf]

I like that quote, will reuse it

[SundanceChile]

Originally Posted by lbanks

More fun from the battlefront...
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/58901/re...rtunities.html
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/88614/ri...is-not-ok.html


seriously, we gotta get the lawyers out of music... unless they're play it.

Tom Bowlus, where are you?