Jack Dylan wrote: > Thanks for this. I must admit I'm a total duffer when it comes to computers > but even I managed to download the '70 Most Danced Tangos' > > Is this legal? I mean, I've spent a small fortune buying CDs on-line and now > I get 70 great tracks for free. Just doesn't seem right.
Is it legal? Probably not, though I'm not sure what the copyright expiry laws are in Argentina. Throughout much of the world, the current law for the copyright on the composition is life of the artist plus 70 years, which would make it very likely to still be current for most Tango music. The copyright on the performance, on the other hand, may be expired for recordings from the early 50's and before, depending on whether Argentina uses US- or UK-style copyright on music performances. Can any of our Argentinian regulars find out what Argentina's copyright law currently says? Is it immoral? That's a much tougher question. Partly, for me, it comes down to a question of where the money for those CDs you bought goes. How many surviving composers and performing artists are there, and are they actually getting the royalties? Or have their rights been long since bought up by an international record label? And then of course, there is the question of whether copyright is a fair remuneration system at all. Myk, in Canberra _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
