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Q - I have been denied a single work arrangement (not a medley) and have been referred directly to Tresona – why might this happen?A – The copyright owner or print license holder has the right to grant or reject any requests for creating arrangements of their copyrighted work. Some companies work with Tresona to grant their permissions, and others work with people wanting to arrange their works directly. The answer to your question depends upon the copyright owner, but because so many companies work with Tresona, the suggestion to contact them is appropriate.Q - As an Artistic Director, I send out marked scores in .pdf form prior to our first rehearsal. Singers, of course, have originals and are expected to transfer markings – Illegal?A – By the letter of the law, yes it would be illegal as only the copyright holder has the authority to make a copy of any kind of the work. That being said, talking with the publisher(s) and getting permission to do this or creating a document that conveys the same ideas (i.e. measure 1 – crescendo through measure 3., Measure 3, beat 3 – sopranos accent the C…). Q - Is it legal to have links on our organization’s website to YouTube videos of single selections from past performances? Is this legal? Was it legal to even put these performances on YouTube?A - A - It is not illegal to link to any content on YouTube from your own website. You should be aware that illegal content is frequently removed from the site, and your links to illegal content may not work after a period of time. Further, you should not post your own content onto YouTube unless you have permission to do so from the publisher.??As several of the publishers mentioned, they have and continue to approve and grant rights to organizations to allow them to place past performances on social sharing sites. Q - What about arrangements created and taught totally by rote? Ignore the issue of difficulty of policing.A – This could be a little complex… If you created your own arrangement of a piece that is in public domain and didn’t rely on any other arrangement to create it and taught it by rote, that is fine. If you created your own arrangement from a piece that is currently protected by copyright, then you would be expected to pay for the license to arrange the music – and then you could either teach it completely by rote… or put pen to paper and write it out for the group.Q - Is the performance license the same as the quarterly fees we pay after performances, to ASCAP?A - YesQ - Can you “borrow” digital downloads from other ensembles like real scores?A – Lets explore this two ways – the first being a streamed printed digital download (you purchase x number of copies which are immediately printable by you, but you do not have a “digital file” after you finish printing – than as long as you loan/borrow the original printed copies that would be acceptable. However, since many times these are watermarked with the purchaser and the number of copies purchased, the loaner will want to include a letter with the copies acknowledging the lending of the copies for a specific time period.If the product that was purchased was a digital file (PDF), than as long as all of the digital files are transferred (just like borrowing paper music, the one lending the copies no longer has any copies or access to the copies) than this would also be permitted. Again, since many times these are watermarked with the purchaser and the number of copies purchased, the loaner will want to include a letter with the copies acknowledging the lending of the copies for a specific time period, and upon return – the borrower must return all copies and no longer has any access to any of the copies borrowed.Q - Is there a good online resource for rules on copyright licenses?A – Yes there are: One would be Chorus America - and informational sites would be: - Since the Star Spangled Banner is in public domain, do we need a license to perform it and/or videotape it and put it on YouTube?A – If you are using a version that is in the public domain (such as the U.S. military version) than you do not need a license to either perform it or post the performance. If you are using a newly created or copyrighted version of the song – than yes, you would need both a license to perform and to post.Q - Can you pay for licenses as a mea culpa for past releases? Is it too late once it’s out there?A – Yes, you can retroactively pay for licenses – performance, mechanical or sync licenses – for past releases.Q - Are more music publishers and distributors planning on creating more large-print scores for our growing population of older adult singers? I know some are doing this.A – Excellent question. I think that as more publishers see the need, they will either find their own solutions or work with someone to create a solution. Making the need known… shouting about it from the mountaintops will help! ................
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