Clearing up some confusion
If you’ve read about the lyric site crackdown, then no doubt you’ve formed an opinion. I just wanted to go over a few misconceptions I’ve been seeing here and there.
It’s not the RIAA leading the war cry to take down lyric sites
In all reports I’ve read, the organizations mentioned so far are the MPA and NMPA, two American organizations that deal with all sorts of copyright and licensing issues for the music industry. Another group on the radar is one that was mentioned in the pearlLyrics story - publishing company Warner Chappell Music.
Putting up a notice does not get around copyright law
I am not a lawyer, but I will say that a lyrics web site does not become legitimate just by putting up a notice such as “All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. All lyrics provided for educational purposes only” as is done at azlyrics.com
Music sheet sales and recording sales are two different sides of the industry
I’ve noticed people asking the question “Why are they concerned with lyrics as long as they’re selling music?” The MPA deals primarily with print music, so if something is affecting music sheet sales, it’s their concern. Another factor is that lyrics are bound to copyright just as the recorded songs are, so rights holders want to keep control of their property. But hey, even I’ve used the “long as they’re selling music” argument in the opening paragraphs of my mredkj.com commentary on lyric site legality.
The industry isn’t just starting to crack down on lyrics sites
The announcement that the MPA and NMPA want to shut down sites may come as a surprise, but various groups have taken action in the past. (Refer to the Long History of Cracking Down in my commentary.) The difference is this new initiative is supposed to be more comprehensive and coordinated.