[tag]Copyright[/tag] can be confusing, especially for well meaning [tag]musicians[/tag] and [tag]music[/tag] [tag]educators[/tag].  It is unbelievable how quickly [tag]intellectual[/tag] [tag]property[/tag] went from being something fairly hard to duplicate and reproduce to something that can be done virtually instantaneous, at almost no cost and distributable to literally millions with little effort at all. 25 years ago the cost of doing something like this would be staggering indeed!

When you stop to think about it, a person can “rip” a form of media (video, print, audio) into a perfect duplicate in seconds.  Take the duplicate and replicate it (as many times as imaginable) and send it out to millions- all from the comfort of their favorite chair, at home!  The cost of doing something like this 25 years ago would be staggering! Now, it costs literally 10ths of a cent, Euro, Ruble or whatever!

Fortunately, there are many [tag]free[/tag] [tag]resources[/tag] available online to help with the understanding of copyright as it pertains to those involved with music.  Below is a list of great resources and help about this topic:

COPYRIGHT RESOURCES:

MENC’s Copyright Center- A great resource specifically for music educators:

http://www.menc.org/information/copyright.html

Music Publishers’ Association- A copyright resource center with many links and articles:

http://www.mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/

Artists House Music- What Music Educators Should Know About Copyright, A video featuring Danny Rocks (VP at Alfred Publishing):

http://www.artistshousemusic.com/alpert_dl/node/5306

The Music Education Madness Site- A short primer by Paul Jennings (Plank Road Publishing):

Click Here:

Bands of America- A concise article for musicians, by Ted Piechocinski, J.D.,  about the “Copyright Monster”:

http://www.bands.org/Public/resourceroom/copyright/copyright_monster.asp

Harry Fox Agency- The foremost mechanical licensing agency for the US (get your rights here!):

http://harryfox.com

Copyright Clearance Center- Another distribution company for licensing and information:

http://copyright.com

United States Copyright Office- The “horse’s mouth” for US copyright information:

http://copyright.gov

Downhill Battle- An interesting site with a somewhat different point of view about copyright and fair-use:

http://downhillbattle.org

James Frankel on “Copyright or Copywrong”:
http://jamesfrankel.musiced.net/2007/01/19/copyright-or-copywrong/ and http://jamesfrankel.musiced.net/2007/02/02/copyright-or-copywrong-part-2/

International Copyright Information= World Intellectual Property Organization:

http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/

Comments, Suggestions and Additions are Welcome!

~J. Pisano