Should Tab Sites Be Legal?

[nkjanssen]

BTW, I would love good tabs to subversives. I learned it in D, which sounds wrong when I play along with the record. Little help?

I wrote out chord charts to everything on "Shakspeare My Butt" years ago. I could check at home to see what I've got. It's still one of my all-time top 10 albums. Terrible name. Terrible cover. Great album. Timeless.

 

[Mindcore]

Love a copy of that myself. I don't think I learned it quite right either.

They've been my favourite band since they were struggling thru the club scene.

 

[funkydrummer]

a few points. the music industry has always opposed any sort of technology. they opposed player pianos saying that these would replace their human counterparts. as of today, which bands/orchestras use a player piano? they opposed wax cylinders saying that "no one would ever go see a live performance anymore when they could just listen for free at home". they opposed cassette tapes and more recently, recordablee cds, and file sharing. so, this is just one more type of technology for the recording industry to stand up against.

i do not believe that posting tabs online is a copyright infringement. it's not like someone is buying an "official" tab book, making photocopies, and placing those on a website-- that would certainly be illegal. however, posting your opinion of a certain piece of art is free speech.

also, the publishers wanted to shut down sites with lyrics. where have you seen lyric books for sale that aren't being sold because the lyrics are posted online?

 

[Monsoon]

sorry for the double post, but does anyone have guitar pro? That is a very usefull program to have for both inexperienced and experienced guitarist.

I was impressed by GuitarPro. PowerTabs is an adequate free alternative. Not as good as GuitarPro, but it's free.

 

[Monsoon]

also, the publishers wanted to shut down sites with lyrics. where have you seen lyric books for sale that aren't being sold because the lyrics are posted online?

Indeed, where have you seen lyric books for sale at all? And this is another exampe of the music industry getting it wrong. Who is going to shell out $20 for a book of lyrics to all of The Offspring's songs off the latest album? That's just too much money for too little value. Especially since the lyrics really SHOULD be printed in the cd inserts or included in the lyrics datafile if you buy the song digitally off iTunes. Heck, the lyrics SHOULD be available on the artist's website, for goodness sake.

 

[tc4b]

Does anyone know of an artist that has tabs on their official website?

 

[MadAudio]

Next thing you know, we won't be allowed to play cover tunes in clubs anymore.

Actually, in the U.S. if a club does not have an agreement with ASCAP and/or BMI, covers cannot be performed legally.

 

[funkydrummer]

Does anyone know of an artist that has tabs on their official website?

foo fighters have a link on their official site to a tab site. i believe the tab site is run by a fan, but is endorsed by the band.

 

[sile2001]

You would have thought that by now the record companies would have figured out that it's the fans that are their customers. I guess not...

 

[mrface2112]

i thought tabs have been illegal since the late 60s? or at least, that's what some of my hippie friends told me.


fwiw, i too have the LedZep songbook (the music one, not the tab one) and it too has the Rain Song transcribed in standard tuning. ick.

instead, try tuning your guitar to:
D
C
G
C
G
D

and see if that doesn't help things out immensely. IMO, makes the song FAR easier to play. of course, familiarity with weird open tunings helps.


cheers,
wade

 

[Zetajazz44]

Actually, in the U.S. if a club does not have an agreement with ASCAP and/or BMI, covers cannot be performed legally.

AND... ASCAP & BMI do go into clubs and check to see if they have the proper licensing posted... I've been in clubs when that's happened...

 

[Armistice]

Thanks wade - I was just digging that up... it makes it so easy to play - trouble is, now I've been playing it for 20 years the wrong way, that's the way I play it because I can't remember the real way... I keep a printout somewhere just in case though..

 

[nkjanssen]

You would have thought that by now the record companies would have figured out that it's the fans that are their customers. I guess not...

To a major label, the fan is the enemy. I'm convinced that's how they see it. That's the only viewpoint that could possibly lead to major lables crippling store-bought CD's so that they can't play on portable devices, or to automatically insalling malware on the computer of anyone with the gall to actually pay money for a CD and then try to play it on their computer.

 

[MadAudio]

AND... ASCAP & BMI do go into clubs and check to see if they have the proper licensing posted... I've been in clubs when that's happened...

I used to be an investigator for ASCAP.

 

[Zetajazz44]

I used to be an investigator for ASCAP.

OH, so you're that low-down, dirty, rotten... (Just kidding!)

Naw, I think artists and songwriters should get their take... I've written a few songs that have been recorded and I've always gotten my take... I'm glad that ASCAP and BMI does what they do... I just think with the internet tablature stuff, it's going a bit far... Much like I mentioned earlier in one of my posts about Garth Brooks wanting to collect royalties off used CDs being sold at garage sales..etc... That was going too far as well...

 

[gbdweller]

I have no problem with artists and publishers making their share. More power to 'em if they can make those millions. The problem is that they go overboard. A copyright infringement is not a valid violation unless there is a financial gain. Tab offered for free is not netting a gain for the tab. The sites may make money through advertising on their site, but the artist should not be entitled to a piece of that. As to clubs and copyrights, strict union enforcement is a thing of the past. That was even addressed in "The Blues Brothers" There may be some instances of enforcement, but in 13 years of playing out 2-4 nights a week, I have yet to encounter it.

 

[ggunn]

I have no problem with artists and publishers making their share. More power to 'em if they can make those millions. The problem is that they go overboard. A copyright infringement is not a valid violation unless there is a financial gain. Tab offered for free is not netting a gain for the tab. The sites may make money through advertising on their site, but the artist should not be entitled to a piece of that. As to clubs and copyrights, strict union enforcement is a thing of the past. That was even addressed in "The Blues Brothers" There may be some instances of enforcement, but in 13 years of playing out 2-4 nights a week, I have yet to encounter it.

It really depends on where you are. Here in Austin, there's no enforcement, but New Orleans (at least a few years ago), especially around the French Quarter, was pretty heavily unionized. I've heard that Las Vegas is that way as well.

 

[Tadpui]

I figured out Rain Song in open G (DGDGBD). Follow me into the back alley and I can show you a tab of it

And to whomever it was above that said screw the MPAA, what would the Motion Picture Association of America care about tabs? I'd care more about what the RIAA thinks

 

[IronFlippy]

I believe it's the MPA who are screwing us over.

 

[Mr. C]

It is ridiculous! I know tabs aren't always accurate, but as someone else said, I just don't have the time to sit around and figure out songs by ear. I'd love to do it sometime, but I'm not that good at it anyways. I know it's not the best analogy, but if a person interprets a poem they don't have to go out and pay royalties on it. So if tab is basically the same thing I don't see how they can legally go after this (I'm sure though the big money lawyers already have that problem wrapped up.) It is getting out of hand. File sharing, isn't that what we used to do in the 70's when we would tape songs from each others albums...where were the music police back then?! Well, it's easier to find us on these computers I guess rather than tracking cassette recorders! I hope the industry self-destructs, it appears right on course to me!