[Macworld.com]

Dan Miller is puzzled by the cease-and-desist order that shut down the pearlyrics Dashboard widget. [more]

[tmedia1]

I really wish Apple or Grace Note Data Base would provide lyrics directly to iTunes that would then populate the lyrics field automatically. I suppose there's probably some sort of legal issue with this or it would be done already. However, when I pay for an iTunes song download, shouldn't that be enough to justify getting the lyrics as well? There must be some way to do this legally!

[derkathon]

damnit! I love pearlyrics!

[taranis]

Its a shame. I'm all for capitalism. But the RIAA doesn't even listen to the Musicians it is suppose to represent. I heard the argument the the RIAA only represents the Music Labels. But aren't the labels suppose to support and represent the Musicians?
What has happened is the GREED machine has taken over. As A music Fan, I am the one who suffers. I purchase music, only to be told how or where I can listen to it. All in the name of "Anti-Piracy."
If it were not for iTunes I would not be buying music any more. The Last physical CD I purchased was DRM protected. I attempted to put it in my mac to listen to it and it would not play... popped it in my PC, and was asked to install player software. Needless to say I returned the CD. This has been over a year or so ago. But I now only buy music through iTunes.
Yes I do at times Miss the Liner notes, and being able to read the lyrics as I listen to some songs. What made up for it was being able to search for the lyrics online. I would usually go to the artists site first (if they have one.) If i was unable to fine it there i would go to one of various lyric sites to get the lyrics. Now they are going to take that away?
If any Musicians are reading this, how do you feel on this topic? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Dan Miller]

To clarify (thanks, Dan Frakes): pearlyrics was also available as a stand-alone utility.
Dan

[tdavis524]

When purchasing music from the iTunes Music Store, often I will have song lyrics in my head, but not remember the name of the song. To solve the problem I'll google the lyrics, find the name and make my purchase.
The problem is, if I cannot search lyrics databases, then I won't be able to find the music I want to purchase. It seems like this works against the music companies' interests, not for them.

[kriri]

Sadly I have already come across a few lyrics sites which were listed by Google but stated that they got a cease and desist letter. Sorry, I don't remember the adresses.
The music industry is in for a big crackdown on any sites with unauthorized lyrics, including fan sites.
Looks like we'll have to buy lyrics as an extra, soon.

[Tony_Tall]

Dan writes that if someone commits a crime, the prosecutors are allowed to go after the person who made the tool with which the crime was committed. This applies to lyrics of a song, but not to a hand gun that kills a person? Are we living in a strange time, or what?
Tony

[wheat]

This is an interesting and troubling question. There are people, you know, who make their entire living writing song lyrics. Rogers and Hammerstein, Gilbert and Sullivan.
Before the Internet era, if you wanted song lyrics, you had to buy sheet music, or buy the album if the lyrics were printed on the sleeve that held the vinyl record.
In many cases lyrics are copyrighted separately from the music that they become associated with.
Just because you buy a song, why should you be entitled to download a copy of the lyrics? As I mentioned above, in an earlier era, you would be expected to buy a 45-rpm vinyl record, and then you would have to buy a sheet music song book to get the lyrics in written form. I did this quite a bit in the late 1970s and early 1980s when I was in a garage band learning to play and sing all those songs I heard on album rock radio.
I don't know just when the expectation arose that song lyrics are supposed to be freely passed around on the Internet. To some artists, the lyrics are just as precious as the recordings of the songs themselves--in terms of their being needed to earn royalties and put food on the table for the lyricist's family.

[Nobody]

In reply to:

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Why cant I download lyrics to the music Ive already bought?

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Using this logic, if I have a subscription to Macworld I should be able to scan its pictures, ocr its articles, and put it on the web for other presumed Macworld subscribers?

[ibeetle]

Some very interesting points have been brought up about obtaining lyrics to music legally purchased.
What if you bought a CD and inside the case you found a card saying if you would like a copy of the liner notes please send in the card along with $4.95? Would you do it?
If you buy a CD with the lyrics shouldn't it be ok if you buy a legally downloaded song to obtain the lyrics or shouldn't the download site provide the lyrics if the retail CD has them?
All PearLyrics is is a search engine. So is Yahoo and Google. What does it matter to the RIAA where you got the lyrics if you used a search engine and if that search engine is illegal then they are all illegal. I wonder when Google is going to get their notices from the RIAA.

[macwilf]

Indeed, if it is supposed to be a legal argument that one can go after the one who makes the tool with which the crime is commited, weapon factories should of course be shut down! And all search engines since people use them to search for illegal files and lyrics and what not.
I think those two arguments clearly shows that these people do not have a case, or if they have, then someone should try the mentioned case scenarios in a trial.
It would be interesting to know the exact legal text which these actions are based upon.

[gcoghill]

I am vaguely familiar with trademark regulations, and I know that part of having a trademark is defending it, legally. One can lose their rights if they do not actively defend the trademark. I wonder if copyrights are similar, being intellectual property as well.
Also, correct me if I am wrong but a "cease and desist" letter is just a threat from a lawyer, and does not mean the recipient is doing anything wrong. However, it is a warning that they will probably be taken to court, and I am sure most shareware developers (and most people) can't afford to defend a lawsuit like this. That's what is really wrong here, is that a big company, under threat of expensive litigation, can force "the little guy" to submit to their wishes, whether the individual is truly infringing on their rights or not.

[Dan Frakes]

In reply to:

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In reply to:

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Why cant I download lyrics to the music Ive already bought?

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Using this logic, if I have a subscription to Macworld I should be able to scan its pictures, ocr its articles, and put it on the web for other presumed Macworld subscriber

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I understand the concerns of the publishers/writers of the lyrics. But to be fair, the above isn't really analogous, as the pictures and text of an article provide its entire value. Lyrics without the song are -- for most people -- worthless. Most people need the song before the lyrics have any value.
As others have said, I've used the lyrics sites to find songs -- based on a line from the lyrics I remember after hearing the song -- that I then go buy. Heck, maybe the publishers should start their own lyric sites to help you find songs and then provide links to purchase the albums /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif