Parlor Songs MIDI and the Web

The purpose of the website is to preserve the historic music manuscripts that are a part of the popular music scene in America. We believe that our collection of 19th and 20th century music represents a unique grouping of manuscripts that will be lost to us if not preserved and shared. At the same time, we are very aware of the rights of the fine artists, composers, and lyricists who labored to bring us these songs.
      One of the main objectives in putting together the website has always been to make sure that we haven't caused financial harm to any of the artists who actually created the music you enjoy listening to. One way of doing this is to use only items that are clearly in the public domain, i.e. published more than 75 years ago. However much of our beautiful collection is newer than that. When we first started Parlor Songs we researched a number of issues pertaining to music rights and set some guidlines for the use of our collection and we felt comfortable that it would be safe and fair to publish our own midi performances of some of the older pieces that wheren't by default in the public domain.
     

Well "It ain't necessarily so".
      ASCAP, BMI, the Harry Fox Agency, and others who either own the rights to most popular music or represent the individuals that do, have been looking at the issues surrounding copyright, the World Wide Web, and the use of music on Web sites. These organizations have been coming down very heavily on web sites using midi compositions or who are sharing lyrics to songs. They have every right to do this and we at Parlor Songs do not begrudge them that right. In an effort to insure that we are not infringing on the rights of others, we have researched every single title in our collection against the HFA database and as a result have severed the midi file links to 50 of the over 650 songs on our site. If you find any item that we have erred on, please notify us. Our commitment is to ensure that we are not violating copyright law nor infringing on the rights of others. As we update each month, be assured that all titles will be researched to maintain continued compliance.
      These mid files may not be lost to you forever. Further research may allow us to bring back some of them, and it may be possible for us to purchase the rights to publish and perform many of the other pieces. In fact for as little as $35 per song, we may be able to buy the rights to bring back all 50 for only $1,750. In order to accomplish this we are forming a foundation for the digital preservation of popular American music. Starting next month we will let you know more about this and how you can help bring back the lost songs.
      If you have further questions about Parlor Songs or our policies please contact us. If you would like more information about midi and copyright issues visit our links page where you can find links to this information as well as to other music sites and resources that might be of interest.