Music Publishers' Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Music Publishers' Association of the United States (MPA) is the arm of the music industry responsible for the production and distribution of sheet music, and is the oldest music trade organization in the United States, founded in 1895.
[edit] Tab and lyric sites
In December 2005, the MPA threatened legal action against tab and lyric websites. The position of the MPA is that these sites infringe upon copyright by offering this material for free, without any licensing from the artist or record label. Lauren Keiser, the MPA president, has gone on record by saying that he wants jail time in addition to fines and the removal of offending websites. [1]
In March 2006, the MPA issued a statement in which they explained their position on websites that distribute unauthorized sheet music and tablature. [2]
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.
