MPA shuts down powertabs!!

[noelio]

Crap, this is the second site I use on a lot in the past week that has been shut down.

 

RIP....Torrentspy and Powertabs.

[Zappa74]

Yes, but put yourself in their shoes. If there is a threat of a lawsuit and law certainly can be read to say that you are in the wrong, wouldn't you be tempted to back away from trying to challenge it, if losing the suit had major repercussions?

 

 

I'd back away from any lawsuit that's over something as stupid as guitar tabs.

[darkmonohue]

Even granting that the MPA is within their rights to shut down tab sites, I wonder whether it's really in the best interests of songwriters and musicians. While the existence of tab sites may cut into sales of published sheet music, it also helps create interest in and enthusiasm for music in general and for particular bands--people may well be more likely to buy CDs and concert tickets, if they can easily find song transcriptions so they can play the songs themselves and find out how they are put together.

 

I also find aggravating the publishers' stance that their rights are absolute, but that they have no corresponding obligations to either the public or to songwriters. By which I mean that they are under no obligation to make available legitimate means of acquiring material even as they sue (or threaten to sue) those who offer the material outside of legitimate channels. I'd be delighted to pay $20 or $25 for a transcription of Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, for instance, or David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album. But I can't. If publishers want to claim the right to sue anyone posting tabs, it seems to me they should in return be responsible for making the music available to those who want to buy.