Posted by Mike on August 10, 2003 at 21:08:35:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Tuba Compilation posted by Jacob on August 10, 2003 at 20:22:26:
Technically, it's not legal even to do it for fun, if you intend to perform it in public. Even if it is at a free-to-the-public High School football game. Short snippets of songs might fall under "fair use" guidelines, but to advertise your unauthorized arrangements for sale at "a small fee" is crossing the line.
That being said, personally I think it's great that you've taken the time to do this, and it would be wonderful to hear tuba sections all over the country playing "the ride" at football games, but you really need to be aware of copyright law before you take it any further than your own tuba section. In some cases, especially this one, I would think, all you need is permission from the copyright holder (Warner Bros publishing, etc.) if you just want to play it and not sell it. (Of course, lots of things are in the public domain, and they are fair game for whatever.)
There's a great on-line resource for this stuff (copyright law, that is) but I can't recall the URL right now. Perhaps someone could post it?
Mike