Hi Ed, I agree but I'd qualify that with 'without the copyright owner's permission'. When you purchase music legally, the copyright owner grants you certain rights which generally include 'fair use' types of things such as making photocopies for your personal use.
Surprisingly to some people, these rights don't include any right to perform the work, which I think is what you're more concerned about. You can contact BMI or ASCAP for that information, but usually like I say that is (or should be) taken care of by the venue owner. I think the only reason you'd need to go to the copyright owner directly would be if the music were out of print, or if you wanted permission to distribute your own arrangements. In a message dated 12/28/2002 1:35:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > The definitive answer in the U.S. seems to be a http://www.mpa.org/, the > home page of the Music Publishers' Association. Copies for > any reason > whatsoever are illegal. To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
