I recently had a story- Lyric Meditation- and it was taken down for copyright reasons. I totally understand and agree. This site is worth way more than a compilation of songs.
What I am wondering is, what difference is there between songs that are in stories, and a story of songs?
What I am wondering is, what difference is there between songs that are in stories, and a story of songs?
From a legal / copyright perspective, there is no difference.
You can mention song/musical composition titles all you want. If you are going to include sheet music or fully lyrics in a story, for a song that you don't own the copyright to then you need an explicit copyright license.
Anything in between those two extremes gets complicated and you should consult a lawyer.
What I am wondering is, what difference is there between songs that are in stories, and a story of songs?
Quote more than the amount allowed by fair use (except if you have written approval to do so) and you're in violation of copyright. Where that line in the sand is will vary with the laws of the countries etc.
Quoting a few lines (like I do in Star Performance) and you're OK, but not whole song after whole song.
typo edit
Quote more than the amount allowed by fair use (except if you have written approval to do so) and your in violation of copyright. Where that line in the sand is will vary with the laws of the countries etc.
Not to nitpick, but you included two separate "your" instead of "you're" uses. Either you're in a rush, not thinking clearly, or you may be developing a bad habit.
two separate "your" instead of "you're" uses.
tired and lazy fingers after a long night of not sleeping, sorry, will fix typos
Quote more than the amount allowed by fair use (except if you have written approval to do so) and you're in violation of copyright. Where that line in the sand is will vary with the laws of the countries etc.
There's one other exception, if the song is out of copyright, e.g. 50 or 70 years after the death of the author (Berne Convention and DMCA respectively).
There's one other exception, if the song is out of copyright, e.g. 50 or 70 years after the death of the author (Berne Convention and DMCA respectively).
Well, something out of copyright is in the public domain and that's fair use, too.
I'm confused as well. Pick a song, any song, google it and you'll find the lyrics for, thousands upon thousands on many sites.
Am I to believe they've got the permission to post them, every one of them? Do not think so.
What am I missing?
Cheers
Am I to believe they've got the permission to post them, every one of them? Do not think so.
What am I missing?
Possibly several things.
1. I have seen one or two such sites that state quite explicitly that they do have paid licenses to show the lyrics.
2. Are we talking about current pop music or older songs that might be off copyright.
3. I have read stories about a number of such sites being sued.
Am I to believe they've got the permission to post them, every one of them?
I don't know if they all do, but most have a legal agreement in place with the copyright holders, most of whom are companies today.
My guess is the music industry just doesn't bother going after lyrics sites, especially because they are just reference pages. Usually copyright enforcement comes into play when somebody else is making money off the thing you made. These stories we publish here aren't profiting us any, but the category of stories and novels in general is traditionally a for-profit enterprise, so it would be something that copyright holders would object to, theoretically.
My guess is the music industry just doesn't bother going after lyrics sites, especially because they are just reference pages. Usually copyright enforcement comes into play when somebody else is making money off the thing you made. These stories we publish here aren't profiting us any, but the category of stories and novels in general is traditionally a for-profit enterprise, so it would be something that copyright holders would object to, theoretically.
Likewise, most authors won't object to isolated quotes because it highlights their own out-of-print books (boosting sales), rather than taking away their current sales).