Is arranging music illegal?

Arranging a copyrighted musical work requires the permission of the copyright owner.

nafme.org - Copyright: Arranging, Adapting, Transcribing - NAfME

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Want to simplify some music for your beginning chorus or transcribe a piano piece for flute? Arranging a copyrighted musical work requires the permission of the copyright owner.

There are Fair Use exceptions in U.S. copyright law that support educators:

“Music teachers can edit or simplify purchased, printed copies, provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, are not altered or lyrics added if none exist. “Music teachers who get a compulsory license* for recording can make a musical arrangement of a work to the extent necessary for their ensemble. The arrangement cannot change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work.” (“United States Copyright Law: A Guide for Music Educators”)

Here’s what the law (37 U.S.C. §107) considers to determine Fair Use:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount used and how substantial the portion used is in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Derivative Works that Require Permission

Arrangements

Simplified editions

Orchestrations

Instrumental accompaniments

Transcriptions

Translations of lyrics

Requesting Permission

1) Determine the copyright owner (usually the publisher) using the Harry Fox Agency’s Songfile or ASCAP’s ACE Title Search.

The kind of arrangement—band, chorus, orchestra, etc.

The number of copies or parts

Who is making the arrangement—you, a student, or someone for hire

Who will perform the arrangement—your chorus, the local symphony

Whether you will sell the arrangement and its price

How often the arrangement will be used—the 2008 Winter Concert or every year from now on

3) Get permission in writing.

4) Show a copyright notice on the arrangement—on all copies and all parts. 5) Keep in mind that permission may be denied or come with a fee. 6) Don’t risk infringement if permission is denied. Statutory damages range from $500 to $20,000 for each act of infringement, but can soar to $100,000 if the infringement was willful. In his book, Copyright: The Complete Guide for Music Educators, Althouse describes noninfringing and infringing adaptations: Noninfringing : You buy enough copies of a choral work for your SATB choir and change a few notes in the tenor line. : You buy enough copies of a choral work for your SATB choir and change a few notes in the tenor line. Infringing: You buy one copy of a 2-part work and adapt it for your SATB choir. You write men’s parts, notate them with Finale software, and distribute copies to your male singers. Althouse’s rule of thumb: What if everyone did it? In the above example, if the publisher already has an SATB version in print, this adaptation could cause a loss of sales for the publisher’s edition. Jay Althouse is a music educator who served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher, as well as serving a term on the executive board of the Music Publishers Association of America. He composes choral music and has written several books in addition to his book on copyright.

–Linda Brown, October 1, 2008 © National Association for Music Education (nafme.org)

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* Compulsory License: If a musical work has been recorded for public distribution, the copyright owner is required to license it to anyone who wants to record it.

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Is MuseScore illegal?

You may transcribe other people's copyrighted music using MuseScore, but you do not necessarily own the copyright for the resulting sheet music. You may still upload it to MuseScore.com, but please use appropriate privacy settings so that you are not sharing this music any more widely than the law allows.

musescore.org - MuseScore.com Community Guidelines vs Copyrighted material

Hi MuseScorers!

Someone contacted me earlier today to know if performing an arrangement I made of a copyrighted song can be performed without copyright infringement?

Is there a document available that would clear things better than what I have just read in the MuseScore Community Guidelines?; <<< Respect copyright Just as you own the copyright for music you create, others own the copyright for music they create. You may transcribe other people’s copyrighted music using MuseScore, but you do not necessarily own the copyright for the resulting sheet music. You may still upload it to MuseScore.com, but please use appropriate privacy settings so that you are not sharing this music any more widely than the law allows. Note that the copyrights on most “classical” compositions have expired, so posting your transcriptions of Bach, Beethoven, and so forth is fine. >>> In others words, is it okay to publish arrangements of copyrighted music on MuseScore? I guess NOT.

Should I simply take them all out?!?

Thanks,

Roger

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