How does posting an audio recording on CCH constitute a copyright voliation? It's not like we've physically photocopied the music and handed it out to someone free of charge. Additionally, the audio performances are made without profit, with no remuneration to the performer in any way, so no royalties would be due to the publisher. For that matter, I've done several recitals and played copyrighted material. Concert artists routinely perform copyrighted material.
What about this... The church organist who plays copyrighted material every Sunday, week after week, and receives pay for his/her services?? Golly, I do this all the time! I don't know a single organist who would ever think of paying some kind of royalty to a publisher for this, or asking permission from the publisher to perform the copyrighted material in public, even if the performer received compensation for doing so...
I had never given this an ounce of thought until reading something about it in this thread.
Let me refer you to a previous discussion of copyright, here on the forum (
http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9110).
An excellent overview of copyright can be found at the Gutenberg Project (
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Copyright_FAQ). Another source of information regarding music scores and the public domain is the Werner Icking Music Archive (
http://icking-music-archive.org/copyright.html).
Finally: the church organist example you describe.
There is a very good discussion of copyright law, particularly as it pertains to churches in the U.S., to be found at the Presbyterian Church (USA) web site: (
http://www.pcusa.org/copyright/). Of particular note:
For churches, the majority of questions involve copying music from hymnals or sheet music and taping services for shut-ins. The Religious Services Exemption contained in the U.S. copyright law exempts from copyright infringement performance of nondramatic literary or musical works or of dramatico-musical works of a religious nature, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly. This exemption does not extend to copying the music or to audio or video taping of the performance.
The PCUSA article also mentions a book entitled
The Church Guide to Copyright Law, which is (reportedly) available for $14.95 from Christian Ministry Resources (800) 222-1840.
More detailed information about copyright and fair use, particularly in the U.S., can be found in
The Chicago Manual of Style (
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Manual-St ... 675&sr=1-1).
I have made a recording of a copyrighted work, and posted it on CCH (
http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/5821) It is a hymn--but it was written for a movie. Played in church, no problem (under U.S. law). Recorded, posted on a web site in Canada, and heard by a listener in the U.K.--could get interesting! So I wrote to the publisher for permission, diligently checked with both music licensing organizations in the U.S. (BMI and ASCAP), and carefully made sure to post a link on my CCH listing so others can buy the sheet music. I'm comfortable that this is fair use (if anything, this might encourage more people to buy the sheet music)--but if anybody objects, Daryl will yank it off the site in a heartbeat.