Your Music is Still YOURS!

[Chris Merritt]

Hi guys!

Just to be absolutely clear: Any file you upload to the Composers' Forum is STILL YOURS. By uploading your music, pictures or video you are taking responsibility and ownership of that media. You can't upload something that someone else owns without permission. And uploading your own music does not give it away.

Uploading a file here gives the Composers' Forum the right to display that file on the Composers' Forum. It does not give anyone the right to reuse, distribute, copy or sell that file anywhere else.

We want everything you upload to be your own work, or work that you have the permission to display. You want to be assured that by uploading your work, you are not inadvertently giving away ownership. So I'm telling you and the world now: by uploading your work, you are not inadvertently giving away ownership. Now keep up your end and only display things that you created or have the right to display.

If in doubt, don't upload it! If you are really worried about someone stealing your work, don't upload it!

We work hard to be sure that the Composers' Forum is full of real composers and is a place where you want to share what you do and how you do it.

I hope this makes you feel a little safer!

Chris Merritt
Creator
Composers' Forum

[Shirley Meyer Blankenship]

I'm attempting to upload 3 audio files:  Metaphysical Waltz, The Squirrel, and Sagileo all composed by Shirley Meyer Blankenship and recorded at Pogo Studios in Champaign, Illinois.

Metaphysical Waltz is an avant guard harp solo.

The Squirrel is based on the jazz composition by saxophonist Guido Sinclair as is Sagileo.  On these 2 pieces, I'm playing the piano.

[Bob Morabito]

Hi Shirley--

 

I just looked on your page here--the four pieces you uploaded ARENT audio files..they're pdf files, probably the scores...

 

Bob

[Shirley Meyer Blankenship]

I am aware that they are pdf files and now I don't know how to delete them.  Arg
Bob Morabito said:

Hi Shirley--

 

I just looked on your page here--the four pieces you uploaded ARENT audio files..they're pdf files, probably the scores...

 

Bob

[Gary Randall]

I've been wanting to ask about this for some time.  I'm very paranoid that if I put a piece on the internet it will simply be stolen and someone else will claim they  made it. I'm not saying my music is so good others will want to steal it, but I've put hours of work into creating it.

 

Do people generally put their best work on here?

What's the best way to prove ownership of our music?

[Shirley Meyer Blankenship]

My ownership is authenticated by the fact that all my music and works are being archived at the Sousa Archives. Also I have numerous programs of performances with my name on them. It would be fairly easy for me to establish my ownership should an issue arise.  The pdf scores that I erroneously put on this site have been performed at Krannert Center for The Performing Arts and also were recorded at Pogo Studios.  Moreover, 2 of the pieces were based on the music of my husband Guido Sinclair. I own the copyrights and moreover, his life and works are archived at Columbia College in Chicago.  I wrote and recorded Metaphysical Waltz-not too many harpists would even attempt to tackle this piece-well, not so far!  Be sure to keep all programs and perhaps consult an attorney.

Gary Randall said:

I've been wanting to ask about this for some time.  I'm very paranoid that if I put a piece on the internet it will simply be stolen and someone else will claim they  made it. I'm not saying my music is so good others will want to steal it, but I've put hours of work into creating it.

 

Do people generally put their best work on here?

What's the best way to prove ownership of our music?

[Chris Alpiar]

While this is all a tribute to your works, this does not answer Gary or probably help him much.

 

In the end anything digital in any format is absolutely hackable, copyable, reproducible, theft-able. There is no guarantee solidly 100% of anyone not being able to use your works without paying you or even making money from your ideas.

 

The converse is that if you dont put anything out there, nobody will ever notice you or hear your music, and what is the point of making music if you dont have an audience? Thats just masturbation.

 

So first, you need to come to terms with the fact that when you put something out there, someone somewhere probably is listening to it or using it without paying money or hommage to you.

 

Secondly, know that in the case where someone makes a LOT of money from the use of one of your works (enough to validate getting a good lawyer) there are plenty of attorneys who will take your case and in a court all you need to do is prove you made the piece and you will get paid. So as far as I am concerned I HOPE someone steals my stuff and makes a ton of money, then I will find them and sue their pants off and Ill be rich and famous :p

 

Then the trick is proving its yours. One very important part is getting the copyright from the US Library of Congress on each work you put out there. Filing is super easy these days with all online ways to do it. And since you can create a collection and file it as one filing, you pay like $50 and can have ALL your music included. (by the way the whole 'mail yourself a copy of the work via the postal service for proof' is gobbldygook, useless and holds no weight in court from what I understand, tho I might be wrong.) Other than filing for copyright, make sure you make regular backups of your data. Being able to show timestamped original files of the music and renderings of them means everything.

 

There may be and probably are other things to do to protect yourself, and that is a question for an entertainment attorney, not a web forum. But the basics of it are: yes anyone can grab your stuff, but if you can prove its yours, if someone is making $$ from it, you will win. And otherwise who cares? If someone takes my music and says its theirs and they arent making money from it, there is not much to do other than not be their friend, rain on their parade when oppty arises :-)

Shirley Meyer Blankenship said:

My ownership is authenticated by the fact that all my music and works are being archived at the Sousa Archives. Also I have numerous programs of performances with my name on them. It would be fairly easy for me to establish my ownership should an issue arise.  The pdf scores that I erroneously put on this site have been performed at Krannert Center for The Performing Arts and also were recorded at Pogo Studios.  Moreover, 2 of the pieces were based on the music of my husband Guido Sinclair. I own the copyrights and moreover, his life and works are archived at Columbia College in Chicago.  I wrote and recorded Metaphysical Waltz-not too many harpists would even attempt to tackle this piece-well, not so far!  Be sure to keep all programs and perhaps consult an attorney.

Gary Randall said:

I've been wanting to ask about this for some time.  I'm very paranoid that if I put a piece on the internet it will simply be stolen and someone else will claim they  made it. I'm not saying my music is so good others will want to steal it, but I've put hours of work into creating it.

 

Do people generally put their best work on here?

What's the best way to prove ownership of our music?

[Gary Randall]

Thanks for your answer Chris. I live in the UK so there might be different arrangements for getting copyright. I'll look into it.

Chris Alpiar said:

While this is all a tribute to your works, this does not answer Gary or probably help him much.

 

In the end anything digital in any format is absolutely hackable, copyable, reproducible, theft-able. There is no guarantee solidly 100% of anyone not being able to use your works without paying you or even making money from your ideas.

 

The converse is that if you dont put anything out there, nobody will ever notice you or hear your music, and what is the point of making music if you dont have an audience? Thats just masturbation.

 

So first, you need to come to terms with the fact that when you put something out there, someone somewhere probably is listening to it or using it without paying money or hommage to you.

 

Secondly, know that in the case where someone makes a LOT of money from the use of one of your works (enough to validate getting a good lawyer) there are plenty of attorneys who will take your case and in a court all you need to do is prove you made the piece and you will get paid. So as far as I am concerned I HOPE someone steals my stuff and makes a ton of money, then I will find them and sue their pants off and Ill be rich and famous :p

 

Then the trick is proving its yours. One very important part is getting the copyright from the US Library of Congress on each work you put out there. Filing is super easy these days with all online ways to do it. And since you can create a collection and file it as one filing, you pay like $50 and can have ALL your music included. (by the way the whole 'mail yourself a copy of the work via the postal service for proof' is gobbldygook, useless and holds no weight in court from what I understand, tho I might be wrong.) Other than filing for copyright, make sure you make regular backups of your data. Being able to show timestamped original files of the music and renderings of them means everything.

 

There may be and probably are other things to do to protect yourself, and that is a question for an entertainment attorney, not a web forum. But the basics of it are: yes anyone can grab your stuff, but if you can prove its yours, if someone is making $$ from it, you will win. And otherwise who cares? If someone takes my music and says its theirs and they arent making money from it, there is not much to do other than not be their friend, rain on their parade when oppty arises :-)

Shirley Meyer Blankenship said:

My ownership is authenticated by the fact that all my music and works are being archived at the Sousa Archives. Also I have numerous programs of performances with my name on them. It would be fairly easy for me to establish my ownership should an issue arise.  The pdf scores that I erroneously put on this site have been performed at Krannert Center for The Performing Arts and also were recorded at Pogo Studios.  Moreover, 2 of the pieces were based on the music of my husband Guido Sinclair. I own the copyrights and moreover, his life and works are archived at Columbia College in Chicago.  I wrote and recorded Metaphysical Waltz-not too many harpists would even attempt to tackle this piece-well, not so far!  Be sure to keep all programs and perhaps consult an attorney.

Gary Randall said:

I've been wanting to ask about this for some time.  I'm very paranoid that if I put a piece on the internet it will simply be stolen and someone else will claim they  made it. I'm not saying my music is so good others will want to steal it, but I've put hours of work into creating it.

 

Do people generally put their best work on here?

What's the best way to prove ownership of our music?

[SEDstar]

I would consider it a certain bit of flattery if someone did steal something of mine, LMAO... good lord, I cant even GIVE the stuff away, cant picture someone stealing it, lol...

 

 

[Paul H. Muller]

I typically upload files to my website and then place links elsewhere - .ning sites like this one, Facebook, G+ etc.  That way if you want to take a file out of digital circulation you can simply delete the file on your website and any link to it will fail - you don't have to go chasing around to all the sites where it was posted.  This does not apply to Bandcamp or SoundCloud - those files are in a different format - but I have control of my accounts...

 

I use a creative commons copyright so I'm not concerned about people using my work.  But I have donated work for charitable fundraising and so I remove that file from my website where it is otherwise available for free. 

[James Gall]

Chris

I have recently joined CF and also coincidentally just finished my first work (Piano Concerto).  I have uploaded all three movements.  i would like to reload the 2nd movement as there is a glitch in the current upload which I have now fixed.  How do I delete the upload on CF before uploading the new replacement.

[James Gall]

Chris
Just a quick question.
I am a new composer. I haven't been on the forum for over a month but I noticed today that the compositions I put onto "My Page' no longer appear at the top of my page where I put them. They are listed in my original note wheniadded them, further down the page but they won't play. Is there a time limit on how long compositions stay on the forum.
CONFUSED?
my Page is under "James Gall"

[Edward Schaffer]

Hi all- I decided to upload a couple of recent pieces from my weird category -

Dialogue of the Barracudas of the Arabian Sea, Opus 266

Meteor Strike - The Zinc Factory of Chelyabinsk, Opus 270

The notes are as follows...

BARRACUDAS

Story:

The corpse was dropped by the US Navy somewhere in the Arabian sea, off the coast of India (timpani) on May 2 2011... When it is dropped, three barracudas see it coming down. The barracudas debate (three separate choral fonts) among themselves about the fact that a long beard is difficult to chew through, and that there is a gaping hole in the side of the body's head with goo coming out. One barracuda even brings up the fact that Greenpeace should be contacted because dumping toxic waste like this body might be an environmental hazard. In the end they all feast on the corpse, with one barracuda saying at the end how tasty it was.

METEOR

Sections :
A Peaceful Friday Morning in the Urals
Incoming - Explosion - Wall Collapse
Emergency Vehicles and Evacuation
Scientists Arrive to Examine Ruins...

Note : Prayers for those affected by the meteor....

Please see my page for the music...  I won't double upload...