Posting them here isn't publishing. ....Keep in mind also that copyright rules are not about medium. Giving someone your transcriptions electronically is no different than handwriting a transcription on a cocktail napkin and handing it to a friend in a bar. That's obviously not a copyright violation, right?....
If you were asking people to pay for your transcriptions, that's when you would need permission from the copyright holders. But you're not.
I respectfully disagree.
Posting 'em here or anywhere that somebody can grab 'em and print 'em
is in fact a form of publishing, it's
electronic publishing.
And actually, you have it backwards. Performing them can be a problem. If you perform a copyrighted song in a pub or restaurant that isn't licensed for it, then you and the venue are infringing on the creator's copyright. That's why unlicensed venues often insist that musicians only play original or public domain music.
Performing for charity is one thing, the listener doesn't get to keep a tangible item after hearing the performance.
That's why sheet music is different.
It's a tangible good just like a record.
And when it comes to records and movies, making copies and distributing 'em, even for free, is called "piracy".
At Eldermusic, Inc., we do music on a volunteer basis. From the ASCAP/BMI site:
"Performances at charitable functions are exempt fromlicense or royalty requirements only if the performances have no direct orindirect commercial advantage and if no one involved with the performance,including any of the events’ performers, organizers, or promoters, is paid, andthere is no direct or indirect admission charge."
Sheet music IS subject to copyright laws.
The copyright holder is listed on every piece of legitimate sheet music I've ever seen.
What do you think the "publishing segment" of royalties covers?
How about folks associated with a band who are given a songwriting credit as a method of compensation (pay) even though they didn't actually participate in composing the song.
Why do artists form their own publishing companies?
To get the publishing royalties.
Why did the owners of old blues copyrights sue Page and Plant and ultimately win?
It's the reason OLGA was shut down many years ago even though everybody always put a disclaimer on their "version" of a given piece. It wasn't a valid legal defense against copyright infringement.
Record companies brought suit and got 'em shut down, just like Napster.
As Crank mentioned, yes I still see stuff that I can recognize as being old OLGA "personal interpretations" but these days the sites like Ultimate Guitar Tabs are paying the publishing royalties with advertising and membership fees.
There're still sites out there where you can buy "official" sheet music and they even have software traps to prevent sheets from being printed for free.
So you have my utmost respect for thinking to ask, but I think technically even if they're
your arrangements, if you're printing the original lyrics in a Word document and making 'em available anywhere, I think it's a copyright infringement.
I got a suspicion you sense that in your gut somehow and want to be sure you're doing the right thing.
It's not about playing for pay or for free,
it's about reproducing content that somebody holds the legal rights for reproduction to.
Final note:
Ever read a book that's got words from a song in it?
Ever notice the copyright owner's always named and their permission to use the lyrics is always acknowledged like on the same page as the publishing history?