MPA releases statement at their site
In March 2006, the MPA issued a statement in which they explained their position on websites that distribute unauthorized sheet music and tablature.
http://www.mpa.org/news/show/5
Several points are made in the statement.
- MPA members invest a significant amount into arranging, engraving, editing, marketing and distributing sheet music products, and illegal tablature cuts into their sales.
- Sharing the tabs is bad enough, but even worse is when sites make money off the illegal tabs.
- Guitar tabs do not circumvent copyright laws just because they’re claimed to be personal interpretations.
- Viewing illegal tabs is equivalent to stealing sheet music from a store.
- The MPA isn’t targeting authorized websites, and will work with sites that want to build a legitimate business.
J F said,
April 17, 2006 @ 1:29 am
The last point is just a public relations ploy, they are not negotiating and are ignoring requests from sites to have legal licensing fees.