BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Song sites face legal crackdown
Before you act: there’s no point in writing comments like: Where’s the zip file? I want the zip file. Can you please send me the zip file?
well well… What can I say? Several people have sent me links to this and other similar news reports, concerned about what is going to happen to dylanchords.
I understand the concern — I share it, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.
On the one hand: I don’t want to go to jail, and I can’t afford a 500,000$ lawsuit. Those are two good reasons to shut down the site right now.
On the other, I keep telling myself that I don’t have much to worry about: all the lyrics are already freely available from bobdylan.com; all the tabs are my own interpretations and “intellectual property” in some sense of the word, I haven’t copied them from anywhere, and god knows I haven’t cast so much as an eye on the official chord books — heaven forbid! (in fact, had the publishers done a decent job on those, I would never have started this site); to my knowledge, chord charts in the form and with the contents you will find on dylanchords.com have not been copyrighted; etc. All in all, if I were the judge, I couldn’t really say that the site is much of an infringement.
Then again, I ain’t the judge.
The Australian Copyright Council writes:
If you own copyright in a musical work or lyrics, you are generally the only person who can:
- reproduce it: for example, by recording a performance of it, photocopying it, copying it by hand, or scanning it onto a computer disk;
- make it public for the first time;
- perform it in public;
- communicate it to the public (including via radio, television and the internet);
- translate it (for lyrics); or
- arrange or transcribe it (for music).
That would mean that I would need Dylan’s permission to arrange the songs, even though the “arrangements” (i.e. tabs) are my own.
However:
Unless a special exception applies, copyright is infringed if someone uses copyright material in one of the ways set out in the Copyright Act without the copyright owners permission. The special exceptions include fair dealing with copyright material for research or study, or for criticism or review.
The disclaimer about “research, study, personal use” etc. is a standard mantra in headers of tab pages, which I’ve never really taken seriously, and I doubt that anyone has — especially not the publishers and copyright holders. Whether or not a use is fair depends on four factors, listed in the US Copyright Act:
• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
• the nature of the copyright work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright work as a whole; and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
I’d say I score a point on #1, but I lose on the other three.
All in all, the situation is too unclear for me to see through it, but also to just sit and wait. I have therefore decided — actually while writing this — to take down the potentially offensive parts of the site until the situation has become clearer. There will be a solution, I’m sure, but until then: have patience! This is not a goodbye, but a “We’ll meet again”
And — not that I think it will have any effect whatsoever, but there’s a petition one can sign at http://www.petitiononline.com/mioti/petition.html
I have discovered this site couple of weeks ago and I have been using it to play Dylan’s songs ever since. And I was very upset to find out that you had to take most of the Dylan’s chords and lyrics off your web. I hope that may be you can send me a copy of the zip files.
Anyway, thank you very much for this great site! And to tell you the truth, they just will not be able to destroy the great job you’ve done, because it brings to so many people light and joy of Dylan’s music!
This website was the first bookmarked site on my browser. The body of work contained on it is/was invaluable to those attempting to learn some of the most beautiful songs ever written. As far as a copyright infringement goes, I think that case remains to be made logically. However, Eyolf, I thank you for your amazing contribution Bob Dylan fans, as well as musicians, everywhere. Given the context, I still found it exciting to read and feel the global outrage in taking down what should be viewed as a public service. Dylanchords was a true masterpeice, and I hope that it returns soon.
Finally, I’d like to thank those that have posted links on where to get the zip file. IF YOU WANT THE ZIP, READ ABOVE!!
It is so sad that such a great site should cease to exist, and I just want to thank you for the hours of enjoyment I’ve gotten out of playing your wonderful simple, yet accurate interpretations of the songs. I think this site does nothing more than honor Dylan and mostly likely encourage people buy more Dylan. It has be my personal experience that playing Dylan on my own has only caused me to gain a greater appreciation of his music, and has caused me to purchase so many albums in a short period of time that I don’t have much money to spend on anything else.
This is just another case of the music industry going after the wrong people. Anyone dedicated enough to take time to learn Dylan’s songs, has probably spent enough money to more than take care of the artist. When will the music industry realize that it is biting the hand that feeds, when it applies copyright protection to cd’s and attacks great people like yourself?
I am not impressed. This is by far the best dylan/lennon/mccartney/harrison site going…i need the zip. Please, please, please…053666b@acadiau.ca
Now, get a canadian (.ca) website and the legal issues can be expunged. Canada, strangely enough, allows people to freely listen to music and write what you hear…and they are cheap!!
I’ll put the site up if you’ll send me the stuff…I have a canadian website and, as i mentioned in an earlier post, the laws in canada allow people to interpret and describe what they hear…if you CAN’T WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU HEAR FOR GOD’S SAKE, what the heck can you do??? Please, send it and i’ll have it up tomororw with a link.
What a shame. A G-dam shame. I’ve puchased dozens of Dillon discs after finding this website. Score one for the man I guess. Hopefully this will be short-lived.
Hi Everyone there is an online petition to stop this shit going down. Please sign it!!! if you want sites like this to exist!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/mioti/petition.html
http://spik3d.com/chords.zip
There’s the Zip file, so people won’t have to keep asking for a link that’s in this page somewhere.
Shame about the site, good luck getting it back up!
Damn!
I’m 54 and haven’t played a guitar in 30 years. Just went out and treated myself to a sweet hollow body electric guitar, and since I’ve fallen back in love with Bob’s work, I was overjoyed to find this site. You have (had) done a great service, and I was just starting to enjoy it all. Three days later it’s down. Damn!
If there’s any chance of getting that zip file, please send it on.
Thanks, and Merry Christmas. I’ll keep reading.
dylanchords.com is the best site, not just for tabs, but any info for a fan of bobby. You get so much more, please put it up again.
Thanks so much for the zip Mateo!!! And even more so, once again to eyolf for the past couple years (that i’ve been coming here)teaching me so much about the music of dylan! Good luck, and I hope this all works out for you in the end..
This is just terrible, this is by far the most comprehensive Dylan tab site, and by far has the most accurate tabs. The record company wants to be able to have sole access to Dylans song trascriptions. Perfect example of the evils of capitalism. People won’t stand for this. All these tab sights do is bring the happines of music to people. I can’t stand this. “What good are you anyway, if you can’t stand up to some old businessman?”-Dylan
I have checked and it appears to me that hyperrust is still up… Doesn’t Dylan have a say in this? Also didn’t Dylan first learn music by others…where is the freedom of art? If you are sending zips out i would like one. I hope you win in your struggle. I hope we all do against this wronging of art.
and remember
“I’m not sorry for nothing I’ve done,
I’m glad I fought, only wish we won.”
Thank you for all
your work. You’ve allowed me to take from you and I’ve never returned anything. I just want you to know I understand your position and I’m very grateful for all the effort you’ve put into this and for your gift to aspiring guitar hackers and Dylan fans such as myself. Be well.
dude put ur tabs back up, nobody is gunna do n e thing u puss, bobby d wouldnt stand for this kinda thing, thats for damned sure.
Cheer up, folks. I have no idea of knowing for sure, but I’d almost bet that enough noise has been made about this that Dylan’s people are aware of the situation. And as Eyolf pointed out earlier, it’s not Bob or his organization who are behind this. I’m sure all of our hopes are that dylanchords gets legitimized and will be back up in due time. In the meantime, I share in all of the grateful sentiments to Eyolf for his labor of love here these past years. He is a humble, self-depricating man to which we all owe an extreme debt of gratitude.
its a damn shame what people do for money nowadays. this was an incredible site and i hope you get it back to the way YOU want it. its by far the most comprehensive, expecially as far as the tabs went. i listen to 2-4 hours of dylan a day and enjoy playing his songs, before i found this site i had to do the best i could on my own. you were a huge help. ill donate what i can.
dear dylanchords,
put back up the songs, let us and yourself see how far this goes. keep a diary and film it. didn’t you think this would happen? get back the balls that listed every dylan album in the first place. this site’s history has been forged, its future condemned. vanquish the address and site altogether or restore it to its original condition as the site shouldn’t only half exist. be happy for the times that have come to pass. your in it to the death or your only half the best.
Yes eyolf, get sent to prison and heavily fined so that all us faceless users can have our DYLAN CHORDS!!! We demand it! Ya puss as prick!
Chill out guys, download the zip and appreciate the awesomeness that eyolf has shared with us all free of charge for the love of the music over the years.
Cheers eyolf, do what you gotta do.
hey, just wanted to express my disappointment/share my condolences. I think so much of this page, its depth and quality are rare.
Before all else…Thank you thank you thank you Eyolf for all the great work over the years.
I’m 51 years old and first heard Bob’s music in the summer of 1968 when I was 13. It’s been a very imprtant part of my life. I picked up the guitar a few months later and tho I play badly I find that singing the songs gives you a diffferent, and in some ways, more intimate experience of them. I remember the excitment I felt when I bought my first chord book in 1969 or so and thnking “what is this shit?” when I found many of the songs in unplayable e flat minor. I figure the MPA owes ME money when you figure the interest on that original $5 piece of crap. IF they would actually bother to put out a songbook that we could use, we might be willing to pay for it.
C’est une GRANDE déception ! J’adorai ce site et le fréquentais régulièrement pour les tablatures et vos commentaires. Je continuerai quand même de le visiter. :(
So Sad. This site taught me soooo many Bob songs which I now play on a daily basis. I play a two hour set monthly (for free) at a local coffee shop of strictly Bob material. Seeing your site the way it is this morning makes me sad and mad. The lunatics are running the asylum. Greed rules..”power and greed and corruptible seed seem to be all that there is…” Bob Dylan
Thank you for all your excellent work. I hope this will work itself out somehow but either way you deserve kudo’s upon kudo’s.
I’ll be glad to link the zip file to my site for download if needed. Also, any future efforts you wish to share I’ll put up as a zip file as well.
Again, thanks for all the great work!
Your site is just like me sitting down with you and a guitar and showing me how to play a song you reard somewhere. What, is that going to be out lawed as well.
see John Westley Harding, It will all work out. Hang in there
another place to get it
http://www.oneleft.com/chords.zip
thanks eyolf! this sight has been like a revelation to me and my guitar playing. hope to see it back up soon!
i can see the day coming when having your own garden is gonna be against the law
My email is bryankot_2@yahoo.com and I am *not* asking for the zip file…. I am also a liar. I loved your site and would like to offer you my condolences.
Your work kept me playing guitar. I cannot thank you enough for going through the trouble.
http://transmissionerr.dyndns.org/chords.zip
What good are you anyway, if you can’t stand up to some old businessman?
Man I’m sorry to hear this, your website truly was amazing and helped me develop as a guitar player and a dylan fan so much. Thanks for everything.
Have you thought about asking Dylan or Dylan Inc. for his permission? Your not making any money at it.
I’m a real dylan fan and when i started to play guitar i bought a dylan tab book. i was a beginner but o tought the trancription was awfull. When i discovered this site it was a real pleasure. Always upgrading with good interpretation and analysis.It’s a shame that a site like that has to end. Hope we’ll find the tab back on the site quickly.Thanks Mister Eyolf and good luck.
eh?
im a huge fan of Dylan and your site. almost daily i get a BD song in my head and after working it out myself for awhile, i fill in the gaps w/ dylancords.com. (today Pledging My Time brought me here). i knew i should have downloaded that ZIP awhile ago! (hint) anyway, best of luck to you. youre really doing Dylan fans and guitar players a great service. im happy to see someone who doesnt “plant their flowers just to be something they invest in.” Bon Chance!
I think that if Eyolf feels like there might be a chance of any trouble he has every right to take down “his” site. It would be nice if you’d be grateful for what he has done instead of calling him a “puss”.
Petitions are utterly useless. Keep up the good work behind the veil of zip files. Thanks Eyolf!
“A long time ago they were pirates
Beaming waves from the sea
But now all the stations are silenced
‘Cos they ain’t got a government license”
HAHAHA!
Your magnificent site taught me to play the guitar. The first song I ever learned to play was “The Times, They Are A-Changin”, from right here at Dylanchords.com,and I, like countless others, are deeply indebted to you for all of the work you have done and will continue to do when this whole stupid mess blows over. Thank you, Mr. Østrem.
I just recently came across this site when I was looking for some Dylan music to play. It was just days ago that I was learning to play “Maggies Farm” which is my absolute favorite Dylan song. I am outraged that you took the chords and tabs off of the website. This isnt some ilegal music downloading site. It is simply a way for the artist to reach out to the listner by way of learning the music which is the best way. Since learning more of Bob Dylan’s songs, I have become more of a Dylan fan than before. My big regret is that I just found out about this site a few weeks ago and didn’t get to finish learning the songs I wanted to. This is truly a disappointment.
Shot Adrian, worked a treat. Go guys! More power to Eyolf!
I really hope they aren’t taken down. Most tablature for any musician in almost all the music books I’ve read and online are usually very very off. But you come so close or exactly to what I hear bob play. Another thing is Dylan himself was a “stealer of music” listening to records and learning to play those songs. I’m sure he believes in sharing music in the sense that other people can learn to play songs that aren’t theirs. I just don’t understand how people can try and do illegal things by knowing a song. Its not like they can say oh I made this song times are a changing like people will believe. whatever I strongly hope that your not shut down. keep fighting for the little people. Yours sincerely.
I,like so many others, Have enjoyed and learned from your site. Please come back soon. Until then I suppose we will all be standing in the doorway crying
Fuc… Shame! Iam from the Netherlands and saw Bob’s first stadiumconcert in The Netherlands in 1978. After that I saw him about 200 times from Holland to New york, Woodstock and so on. Iam playing his song over more than 30 years and discoverde your site a while ago. I was teaching myself specialy the basement tapes songs, because the way you find out the lyrics & chords are very impressive. Iam not a laywer but hope you will find a way to solve this mayor problem. Hopefully a laywer fan can help you. I red some comments from this kind of fans. I think there is hope aon the horizon. Good luck, Ed. (if there is a way to recieve the zip-files, please let me know).
Eyolf Østrem,
Your contribution to our personal enjoyment of Bob Dylan’s music is profound. You have opened doors to millions of people like myself who lack the musical ear and talent to analyze music and transform sounds into understandable terms. Your work is like the Guttenberg Press, allowing the common man and woman to study and understand things they otherwise would not. For this, you will have a place in our hearts and minds forever.
On a personal level, I began playing guitar in 2001 with the simple goal of playing and singing passable rendition of Simple Twist of Fate. Your work helped me accomplish that goal, and many others over the past four years.
God bless your vision, talent, and work. God’s speed to you and your site.
is there any way you could put the zip file up for download somewhere else? This site was amazing, it was my favourite and I spent hours using it. You did a great job, i hope you can carry it on
Just had a thought, as it’s the American Music Publishers’ Association that is kicking up a fuss, could you not just put the songs back on but put a note on the site saying that if you are in America, it is illegal to view the files? If you’re hosting the site from Norway, they can’t arrest you or fine you from America, because you’re not breaking Norwegian law. If the Government of Norway deems it illegal to host the site, then you’d really have to take it down, otherwise I don’t see why you should.
This site basically got me started on learning Bob Dylan songs, so its a shame when people take a good thing the wrong way. Great job with the site, I hope it comes back up. In the meantime, I was wondering if you coulds perhaps send the zip file or whatever to my email address. Keep on keepin on.
amen, woody.