At 5:40 PM -0400 7/10/10, dhbailey wrote:
Interestingly, the ownership of the involved copyrights is so murky
that even the publishers have no clue anymore.
Actual story -- years ago I discovered that a then out-of-print
concert band arrangement I had just purchased (and dearly wanted to
perform with my community band) was missing the low brass and
percussion from trombone on down the score. The work was printed
and distributed by Hal Leonard, but the music was "published" (i.e.
copyright was owned) by a different company. So I contacted Hal
Leonard for permission to photocopy the missing parts since they
couldn't provide them for me. I was told by Hal Leonard's legal
office that I needed to get that permission from the actual
publisher, that Hal Leonard as a corporation didn't have the right
to give that permission. They gave me the phone number to call the
other publisher. Which I did, and was told that they no longer
controlled the copyright since they had licensed all that to Hal
Leonard, so I needed to contact Hal Leonard for the permission.
Now THAT is a case where you do your contacts in writing, you keep
meticulous records to prove that you tried to do the right thing, and
then you go ahead and copy the missing parts and inform both
companies that you're doing so. If they ever did take you to court,
it would make both companies look like idiots!
But it might be helpful if we started referring to "the copyright
owner" rather than "the publisher" or "the printer," since it's
always and only the copyright owner who can give or withhold
permission for copies. (And yes, that authority can be and is
delegated; nothing's simple!)
As to there never having been someone named Hal Leonard, you're
correct and I was really surprised to learn it, but it does nothing
to the argument either way, except to undercut the implication that
no mere drummer could ever be either a good musician or a good
businessman! There WAS a band leader named Fred Waring, but he named
his publishing company Shawnee Press, after his estate at
Shawnee-on-Delaware.
John
--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:john.how...@vt.edu)
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
"We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.
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