IMSLP Forums

You may not realize that you've also been attacked on the Balanced Copyright Facebook Group. On February 22, 2011, the Group Administrator, who I believe is an employee of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (based on circumstantial evidence that I'm not willing to share), posted a link to a New York Times article about the IMSLP. Here's the link, and the discussion that followed. I'm using Smileys to delineate it.



Balanced Copyright For Canada
The New York Times features an article on the International Music Score Library Project, which allows users to download sheet music for free: "The site operates from servers in Canada, where copyright law is generally looser."
Internet Music Score Library Project Raises Copyright Concerns
http://www.nytimes.com
The Internet Music Score Library Project allows free downloads and is raising copyright concerns among traditional music publishers.
February 22 at 5:07pm · Like · · Share

17 people like this.

Ian Boyd Unbelievable that we live in a country that allows our servers feed the world without regulation. The government simply does not listen....Sad
February 22 at 5:17pm · Like

Wayne Joseph Borean Isn't the International Music Score Library wonderful?
February 23 at 9:19am · Like

Victoria Shepherd Wow. Another embarrassment for Canada. Shame on us.
February 23 at 9:43am · Like · 2 people

Wayne Joseph Borean Why is it a shame Victoria? The scores posted are out of copyright. Legally the project has a right to post them.
February 23 at 10:35am · Like · 1 person

Steve Kane all of them ? prove it.
March 1 at 7:53pm · Like · 1 person

Wayne Joseph Borean I don't have to. You prove that they aren't out of copyright under Canadian law.
If you read the site rules, you'll note that they do multiple checks on each score. The odds are that the site is more legal than Facebook.
March 14 at 10:28pm · Like



Because of the way Facebook works, there is no way unfortunately to link directly to it. If you want to see it, you'll have to go to the Group page and scroll back to February. I can however identify the people involved besides myself.

First myself. In addition to running my own website, which should show linked to my name, I also run Web Lit Canada, and I'm a writer for SemiAccurate. I'm the guy who uncovered the Cameron Tilbury/One Soul Thrust torrent mess. I'll note one again that I didn't intend any damage to the band. It never crossed my mind that Cameron might have been taken in by a scam. I thought he was lying. My mistake, and I regret it.

As for the other people, they are:

Ian Boyd owner of Compact Music in Ottawa

Victoria Shepherd Executive Director of the Audio Video Licensing Agency Inc.

Steve Kane President of Warner Music Canada

At this point you'll probably notice a theme here. Out of all the 80 or 90 people who comment in the group, there are only 4 or 5 of us who do not work for the CRIA member companies, or the Collecting societies. Every time an article is posted which states anything negative about sites like IMSLP the music industry types react like trained seals, saying how awful the IMSLP is. Anytime something is posted which is positive towards something like Bill C-32, they also act like trained seals, saying how good it is that something is being done.

I've spent a good part of the last couple of years acting as the voice of reason. In addition to being a writer, I own my own portable recording studio, and I'm an amateur musician, who has made use of this site in the past (though I'd never set up a forum account until the latest excitement hit). I know a lot of writers, musicians, and recording engineers. Their interests are not the same as the Music labels, or the Collecting societies that supposedly serve them. In fact most of them are dead set against what the large corporations want. Which is why so few are involved in the Facebook group, and the few that are have all worked for the labels at one time or another.

I wanted to warn you about what is going on there. Some of you might find it useful to drop in, and make your opinions know to the group, hopefully on a regular basis. They could use a few more dissenting voices

Wayne aka The Mad Hatter

I dislike the fact that you have to “like” the group in order to have the right to post to it!

I see a few voices of sanity there willing to engage the vested interests of the corporate flaks – but as I am obviously not Canadian, I doubt any comment from me would be of great relevance there.

Thanks for the heads up, Wayne.

Cheers, Philip

pml wrote:I dislike the fact that you have to “like” the group in order to have the right to post to it!

I see a few voices of sanity there willing to engage the vested interests of the corporate flaks – but as I am obviously not Canadian, I doubt any comment from me would be of great relevance there.

Thanks for the heads up, Wayne.

Cheers, Philip

There's several people who aren't from Canada involved with the Group. One semi-regular is Australian. As to 'liking' the group, that's just the way Facebook works. I agree it's a nuisance. But that's Facebook.

Wayne