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   We snatched this statement off of MPA's website back when it was a hot issue and we've added our own little interruptions, This is their statement to the community on their actions that has led to the shutdown of most all online tablature sites, We are active in this battle because of our own transcriptions (songs) database that allows members to post transcriptions is ongoing...

The MPA's statement are in bold grey letters since what they say is grey...
GW: Our comments are in black letters and US Copyright Laws are in Bold...

   The Music Publishers' Association of the United States, Inc. (MPA) is the oldest music trade organization in the United States.
GW: The process of going to a print press is the oldest method as well, Most of the cost when you purchase music is because you are buying paper and the shipment and marketing of that paper. The internet is a huge threat to any business that sells 'paper' with words on it, That is essentially what the sheet music publishers are - business's that sell 'paper' with words on it and indeed they are on the downfall, The real issue is that 'publishing' is an old business and times have changed...

The MPA is a non-profit association. Many MPA members are music publishers who specialize in producing printed sheet music products for educational, concert and recreational purposes.
  GW: We don't know the breakdown on how many of their members are 'sheet music' publishers, The phrase 'music publishers' is kinda vague because the 'publishers' of the 'sound recordings' (The real product) may or may not be included in their 'member' roster - They should also take 'educational' out of thier statement because they could care less if you can 'perform' the song or even learn it, Just because you have a transcription of a song in no way means you can play it... 

Accordingly, the MPA is particularly concerned with legal and business issues affecting the printed sheet music industry.
  GW: Yes indeed, If you are focusing on the pubishers of 'transcriptions' then you should have some business concerns, The legal issues are one thing and the business issues are another. I have in front of me 'Tom Pettys' 'Listen to her heart' that was published by 'Skyhill Publishing' and it has a list price of $1.75 that came out in 1977 - The 'arrangement' they call is totally vague compared to the 'original' permanent sound recording, If this 'three page' transcription had a value of almost two dollars back in 1977 then today it must be $3.00 or more, The fact is that it probably cost $.12 to legally 'sell' a transcription of this song and the rest of the money goes towards all the other factors in 'printed' sheet music, It seems that if you want to 'sell' transcriptions then you need to adapt and prove that your transcriptions are worth more than $.12..

   The members of our Board have received numerous e-mails in response to media reports that the MPA is embarking on a campaign to shut down web sites that make sheet music and/or guitar tablature of songs available to the public.
  GW: This is true, From what OLGA and Guitartabs are showing they are doing exactly that - What makes all the other sites unaffected?, Probably their size... Who knows...

We greatly appreciate hearing from those members of the music community who have taken the time to write to us or to our Board members.
  GW: They are talking to the practicing musicians so listen up, Only people wanting to play something would ever want the transcriptions.

Although we regret that we may not be able to reply to each inquiry individually, all inquiries are read. Most of these e-mails express similar concerns and those issues have been discussed by the members of the MPA Board. We ask that you take the time to read our explanation of our position that follows, and thank you for your interest and consideration.
  GW: This is where it starts getting interesting...

  In December, the MPA Board decided to take action against web sites that post unauthorized sheet music and tablature versions of our members' copyrighted works.
  GW: This is a confusing thing to us, are they talking about the 'artist' that gets the royalties or the 'publisher' who pays the royalties? - The phrase 'our members' copyrighted works' would mean the 'transcriptions' that the 'publishers' manufactured which would be the 'publishers' work and not the 'artist' work, The only reason they have to pay the royalties is because their motives are 'for profit' and not 'to teach you how to play'. Anyone could sell transcriptions for profit, This means 'bobs transcriptions' could set up shop and transcribe whatever music they wanted to and sell them to stores too - 'Bob' would be authorized by paying royalties, Its not like the artist goes to a publishing company and says "Hey, Transcribe my music and sell it for me", The publishers decide what people are trying to learn and then transcribe the music and sell it...

We are doing this to protect the interests of the creators and publishers of music so that, the profession of songwriting remains viable and that new and exciting music will be continued to be created and enjoyed for generations to come.
  GW: The 'creators' and 'publishers' of music are two different people, The 'creators' are the ones that haven't created anything yet. Transcriptions dont tell you how songs are built, They tell you how specific songs are played. There is a big difference between learning how to play a song and learning how to create a song.

  As with any event that has been reported in the press and discussed among the public, a certain amount of inaccurate information has been circulated. To be clear, neither the MPA nor its member publishers will take any action to shut down any legitimate web-based business that is authorized to distribute our members' music.
  GW: There's that 'Our Members' Music', Its kinda unclear wether its the 'artist' or the 'publisher' that they are concerned about. 'Music' is mentioned there too, 'Music' and 'Transcriptions of music' are two different things. And they wouldn't be able to do anything if some other company started doing what they are doing (Selling Transcriptions) - Then it would be two 'publishers' competing against each other which would fall into 'darwins' theory...

Rather, MPA is concerned with those web sites that offer music without the permission of the creators and owners of that music.
  GW: The transcriptions that we post are truly for educational purposes, We would rather people not 'buy' transcriptions and pay no 'royalties' and POSSIBLY learn how to play the song and go on to playing the 'song' in public and paying 'royalties' each time they performed the 'song'. We are just shifting the profits and revenues to different areas of the 'music industry', Transcriptions play a small part in the ability to 'perform' a song and then go on a make a living 'performing' the song or songs...

  Our members are in the business of creating printed sheet music and tablature products and making them available for sale in music stores and on line.
GW: This pretty much says it all, the keywords to look at are "Business", "Printed Sheet Music", "Products", "For Sale", "And on Line"...

Our members pay substantial sums to the creators and owners of the music we represent for the right and privilege to bring this music to the public in authorized sheet music products.
  GW: We would really like to know the details on these 'substantial sums' to the creators, Maybe collectively they can use that phrase but on a 'one' song and 'one' person deal then its most likely very very small ($.12 is it?) This is one time 'royalty' payment the artist gets - IF that 'one' person learns to play the song on his own or with 'free' 'transcriptions' and 'performs' the song 'two times' in public then they have already paid TWICE as much as the publishers ever will from that one song. Most 'artist' would much rather have 1000 bands 'performing' their songs every week and paying a royalty each time over getting the one time 'royalty' that you pay - That is if someone 'buys' your transcription or that you even have that 'product' available...

Our members also put tremendous effort and incur significant expense in arranging, engraving, editing, marketing and distributing those products.
GW: There is no doubt that it takes a long time to document what is happening in a 'song', It takes a longer time trying to figure it out by ear as well. Then it keeps going on with a 'significant' more time getting to the point where you can play and sing the 'song', and then or course there's that 'significant' effort to get to the point where you become a musician and play the song or a group of songs for a living. (The ultimate dream of course it to 'create' a song and make money from it)

And second thing - The "arranging" should be taken out of your statement because the 'arrangement' has been done - This can be found only by listening to the 'permanent sound recording', The 'artist' did the 'arrangement' and your 'employees' just wrote down what the 'artist' 'arranged' and 'performed', Then all of the engraving, editing, marketing, and distribution are the 'business' problems naturally associated with the publishing of 'books', The whole issue is that you are selling the 'product' and we are not. A song transcription is like an old computer, You wouldn't buy it but you would dig it out of the trash.

Our members work closely with the creators and their musical representatives, to ensure that the finished products accurately represent the music as the creators wrote it.
GW: All you need is the true finished product which is the 'sound recording', What do your 'members' do? Ask the bands what chords they are playing? Hey Mr. Bono, Do you know what chords your guitar dude is playing? And their musical representatives are there to make sure they get 'thier' check from your big check. Transcriptions mean nothing if you cant play the song, Even if you have the 'partial' transcriptions that most of your members offer then you still need to get the 'sound recording' and spend countless hours listening to the song and try to play it. Its probably safe to say the 'musical representatives' are happier when the see people from the 'live music' industry, People in that industry create streams or 'royaltys' opposed to the 'one' time 'royalty'...

  Our members take great pride in the products they create and sell, and in their relationships with the creators and owners of the music they publish.
GW: Theres those 'Products', 'Create' and 'Sell' words again...

Moreover, the creation and distribution of legitimate sheet music and tablature products is how our members and their employees feed their families,
GW: I guess its a matter of whos family you want to feed? Theres the musician who is 'performing' the 'song' and continously paying royaltys 'per performance' or There are the 'business people' who are the one that offers you the 'instructions' on how to 'perform' a 'song' that doesn't gaurantee you can 'perform' the song...

and it is also how music retailers and,
GW: If someone packaged the crappy transcriptions that are/were online then the 'retailers' would probably sell it, They are in the business of selling stuff and thats what alot of them do. They want you to buy what you want to buy regardless of what they 'really' think about the 'product', A 'gidget' could be worthless and the 'business' minded retailer would still sell the worthless gidget if people wanted to buy it...

of course, the creators of the music earn a living.
GW: We are going to guess that the 'creator' of the music gets most of the money from the people 'listening' to, 'watching' and 'performing' their songs, The people that love 'achy breaky heart' will probably buy that song a couple times and maybe even go see him in concert, buy a shirt or other 'product' - The fans pass up more than a few 'royalties' however small they may be. Then there are the bands and musicians that 'perform' the song 'achy breaky heart', Those people are fans as well so they most likely will pass on the same royalties the fan does PLUS a 'royalty' each time he performs the song in public (So playing the song is like buying the song over and over). Maybe the 'musician' will do a cover song of 'achy breaky heart' so then they would pay a 'royalty' each time they sold their 'cover' version of the 'song'...

The 'creator' of the song will reap in the publishers 'one' royalty payment per song, Saying the 'creators' of music 'earn a living' off of 'transcriptions' is a huge 'mistatement'..

  Many of those who have written to us have expressed frustration at the possibility of losing access to "free" guitar tab files that have been posted on various web sites. While it is true that tablature for some of the songs on these sites have not yet been produced legally by a music publisher, it is the presence of the unauthorized free product that is largely to blame for that situation.
GW: Its not a 'product', A 'product' is something you sell or a gidget. Your 'members' just create 'products' for 'songs' they think people want, And any 'transcription' can be produced legally - The legality comes into play when you try to sell them, There is no issue that 'selling' them makes you liable to pay 'royalties', Some of these tabsites are more about the 'money' but 'businesses' and organizations like Guitarweek are more in the business of teaching people how to play songs - If a 'musician' was clocked in at a job the whole time it took to learn a song then it would cost in the thousands to 'learn' the song, The internet makes the three page song that cost essentially ($.12) not worth the ($1.75) which has and will continue to have a big impact on the 'printed sheet music' - Maybe your 'members' should get into the ink business...

Accurate and complete notating of songs, whether in traditional sheet music format or in tablature, is a time-consuming and expensive activity.
GW: An accurate and complete transcription of a song is not possible for a 'song' that is a 'permanent' 'sound recording', Most of the transcriptions just cover the 'underlying' structure of a song. An 'accurate and complete' 'transcription' of Pink Floyds eighteen minute song, 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' , would most likely be larger than the yellow pages of a phonebook in a small city. "The Wall' by pink floyd was 'transcribed' in a 200 page book and if it was an 'accurate' transcription then it would be more like a 5000 page book...

It is very difficult for a music publisher to make the investment needed to produce and sell an accurate, high-quality tablature version of a song when an unauthorized competing tablature version can be downloaded for free on numerous illegal web sites, even if the illegal tablature often is not accurate.
GW: It will keep on getting more and more difficult... Illegal is a strong word too, It seemed that 'threatening' to 'threaten' the host of some tablature based websites was illegal, If sites are posting the 'transcriptions' that your 'members' worked on then thats illegal - You must remember that alot of people document songs they are learning, IF tweny of the best 'transcribers' transcribed a song then they would all pretty much look the same... The 'instructions' on how to play a song are facts as a result of the 'permanent' recording - Recordings dont change ever so you can compare a 'transcription' to 'the' recording to see if 'in fact' the transcription is correct...

  Moreover, it is simply wrong and unjust that many illegal web sites are able to make money, whether from selling advertising, other products or by other means, by giving away music that does not belong to them.
GW: ITs simply wrong that your 'members' are able to make money not as 'performers' but by giving off the impression that buying transcriptions to a song is paying back the 'artist', And they are not giving away 'music' - Music is a series of sounds that you listen to and looking at the instructions to music is very far from the 'music' that you wildly use...

Remember, unlike legitimate music publishers, these unauthorized web sites do not pay the creators of the music.
GW: If someone is given a free 'product' and that 'product' results in them playing the song in public for a living then they are paying the 'creators' of the music many times more than if they purchased a 'commercial' transcription...   

It is like a store giving away stolen merchandise to attract customers to buy other things in that store.
GW: The value is in the time taking to 'transcribe' the song, Transcriptions and the method to distribute them has taken a drastic change. If you sole business is selling 'transcriptions' then you better start trying to find something else to sell...

 Many of those who wrote to us seem to be under the impression that the guitar tabs (or lead sheets or other similar works) posted by individual players are the personal interpretations of the songs by the person who made them and therefore are not subject to copyright.
GW: They are really the facts of a song, and they are not subject to copyright (royalties that is) because they are for 'educational' purposes. Theres no 'opinion' as to what chords, scales, and words are used - If someone says a verse starts out with "You are" then you can challenge it by listening to the 'sound recording' to determine if "You are" is said or if in fact its "You're" which means the same thing basically but both have different rythmic patterns. If it wasn't recorded and there was no way to verify that it then it would be a matter of opinion, Since the 'sound recording' is permanent then a determination of what is sung and played on any recording...

Nothing can be further from the truth. The U.S. Copyright Law specifically provides that the right to make and distribute an arrangement, adaptation, abridgement, or transcription of a copyrighted work such as a song belongs to the copyright owner of that work.
GW: There is of course there the 'fair use' act that says

   Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted
work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or
by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining
whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors
to be considered shall include—

    (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

    (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

    (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted
work as a whole; and

    (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted
work.

 So in fact the 'illegality' of someone posting 'transcriptions' should be a decision made by the courts, Not the threatening manner in which the MPA has acted against OLGA and Guitartabs...

Virtually all of the songs on the tab and other music web sites are protected by copyright. Thus, any player, whether an amateur or a top professional, needs the permission of the copyright owner of a song to make an arrangement or a tab version of that song and to post it on the Internet. Otherwise, the arranger and the web site are infringing that copyright.
GW: that is the question, Is it illegal or isn't is when you follow the 'fair use' guidelines and your intentions are for educational purposes and for the better good of the 'artist'...

 We have also heard that it would be too expensive to purchase legitimate tablature or sheet music for all of the songs that a player may want to learn.
  GW: The term 'starving artist' isn't just a saying, If a song transcription was $.50 then it wouldn't be that bad for most everyone including the poorest of musicians, A transcription in itself does not come with an immediate effect which helps in decreasing its value or worthliness. Even if you can photocopy a transcription at the local library then you are still spending the gas money to get there and the dime they charge for printing... Its much like being in college, You are spending alot of time learning how to do something, and when you are learning then you aren't usually getting paid...

We are sure that these same individuals would not feel entitled to steal a sheet music book or a guitar from a music store simply because they want it but cannot afford it.
GW: Those are 'products' and by all means that would be theft, A 'transcription' that someone else spent time creating is not the same as swiping one of 'Hal Leonard's books that they spent time to manufacture. So the stealing sheet music argument doesn't fit in this issue at all...

Yet, anyone who patronizes these illegal web sites is stealing just as if he or she walked out of the music store with sheet music or a guitar. And by doing so, those people are taking money from the creators of the music they say they love.
GW: Its hard enough to learn the songs even with the transcriptions, If the MPA makes it harder for musicians to learn other musicians songs then THEY are the ones taking money out of both the 'new artist' pockets and the original 'artist's pockets. The 'artist' benefits alot more by musicians that play their songs in public, The payback for 'performance' is many times bigger than the one time payment for the 'commercial' version of a 'transcription'...

  The MPA is taking action to protect the rights of the creators and owners of music against people who would take the value of their music for their own commercial purposes without compensation.
GW: That would be the 'greedy' musicians who play for money and pay 'royaltys' each time they play the song, Even for the greedier ones that create their own versions of a song and pay 'royalties' for each 'song' they sell. The ultimate payback to a song you love is playing it in a band for a living, When a band plays a song that is 'copyrighted' then the 'creators' get just as much as the publishers pay when they sell the same song.

Our members are ready and willing to work with any web site owner who wants to build a legitimate on-line business to make music available to amateurs and professionals while providing compensation to the people who create and own that music.
GW:  The will to profit cannot exceed the 'desire' to teach people the inner making of a song and therefore create musicians. The 'creators' will eventually get the same 'royalty' that you would have gotten yet it will be the musician and 'artist' who profits, When a 'printed sheet music' publisher 'sells' a 'transcription' then the buck has stopped for them ...

We look forward to developing new ways of distributing our products through the Internet for the benefit of everyone in the music community.
GW: Oddly enough the 'new ways of distributing' you are developing has passed you and is now your problem, The new way is through the internet and you are way behind. Not everyone is in it for 'commercial' reasons so thats even a bigger problem, Now your problem seems to be convincing people how your 'expensive' product is more 'valuable' then the 'free' product. If the whole 'printed sheet music' industry collapsed then it would not effect the 'creators' of new music, It may actually help if more sites do what OLGA and Guitartabs are doing...

  We hope that your reading of this message has left you with a better understanding of our position and that we have been able to clarify some of the myths and misinformation regarding the distribution of copyrighted music on the Internet and our members' position.
GW: Sadly enough this has just isn't good enough to convince us to join in your effort to 'sell' transcriptions for profit, The sadder part is that there are alot of other myths and misinformation that is still surfing around. The biggest 'misinformation' that you are spreading is that the MPA puts more money in the 'artist' pockets, And it seems that people don't seem to realize that a 'transcription' to a song is not in the same category as the 'song' it depicts. The MPA creates the illusion that their 'products' are the last nickel for the 'artist', If you are successful in your 'mission' then it will be the last dollar for the 'artist'...

   Its not the 'sheet music publishers' that benefit when a musician learns to play a 'copyrighted song' in a band for money, The 'artist' themselves directly are the ones that benefit when someone learns to play thier song and then goes on to 'perform'... As long as we are around we will fight for the right of sharing transcriptions that are created by people with no commercial motives, And that would be musicians of course...

We are always interested in hearing the views of the music community, and would welcome your comments at admin@mpa.org.

(Mr.) Lauren Keiser
President
Music Publishers Association