The SMA accepts submissions of scanned, public-domain/out-of-copyright
sheet music. If you would like to submit, however, you must read the following
instructions, which tell you what music editions are in public domain and thus
legally copyable/distributable. We cannot accept any copyrighted material! It
is, for our purposes, utterly, irredeemably useless.
And it is heart-breaking to have to
reject lots of scanning work because material in copyright was used. Anyhow,
basically, this is how it is done:
1. You may create your own edition of copyright-free music using a
computer, and upload the music to us. Basically, any music by
any composer who died over 70 years ago is copyright-free.
OR
2. You may scan editions of music of which both the music itself and
the edition of music are copyright-free. That means the composer
of the music died over 70 years ago, and the edition of his music
you are scanning is copyright free. Examples of copyright-free
editions of music include but are not limited to:
a. Brietkopf and Hartel editions published before 1923
b. C.F. Peters editions published before 1923
c. Russian music editions published before 1973 of music
by composers who died over 70 years ago
d. Bach-Gesselschaft edition of Bach's complete works
e. The majority of re-prints of copyright-free music
published by Dover Publications, Inc., an American
publishing company. Exceptions: various works by
Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, plus any reprints
of the Paderewski edition of Chopin's music that
was previously published by the Chopin Institute of Warsaw
(this edition went back into copyright under GATT/URAA around
1998, so Dover had to scrap those editions and come out with
replacement editions, which it did in 1998.
f. American music editions published before 1923
g. We hesitate to accept music by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev,
Shostakovich and Khachaturian because some of it may
be copyrighted. However, any works that these composers
composed before 1923 are copyright-free under U.S. law.
This includes most of Rachmaninoff's important works.
Pre-1923 works by these composers may, however, still be
in copyright in countries that honor copyright on a
musical work for 70 years after the death of the composer.
Question: if we put that online, we being an American-based
web server, are we liable for infringement if someone in,
say, France, downloads the music? Or is the downloader
liable? Any lawyers out there who can answer that? Come on!
Surely there must be lawyers among the highly intelligent and
educated classical music community!
3. When you scan files, you may save them as .pdf files, as .ps files,
or you may save them as .gif or .tif files or some other universal
graphics format. If you save them in a graphics format, number each
page consequitively (01.tif, 02.tif, etc.) and bundle them up into
a .zip file. Then, upload the .zip file.
4. If you want a more thorough explanation of the above,
read THIS.