Potential Copyright Issues (Edited)

As many will know, we have had a bit of a to-do over an item made available through this blog. Without going into that incident, I just wish to set out for future cases, the rationale under which this blog is operated and to also set out a suggested approach by anyone who feels that some item should not be available through here.

The primary purpose of this blog is to ensure that Australian folk music and other folk music by Australian performers is not lost through inaccessibility.

If such music is available for purchase, I am totally opposed to sharing it through this blog. Also, I am always happy to do an entry promoting such music and providing a link or other information so visitors can buy the material. Also, if the music subsequently becomes available, I am happy to remove the download links and provide purchasing information (as illustrated by previous entries about the music of The Settlers and The Cobbers).

Probably all the material published here is still subject to copyright to some extent and all download offerings are potentially breaches of copyright law. On the other hand, the owner of the copyright of any material posted here is firstly unlikely to suffer any significant loss (download numbers are relatively low which is of concern from a preservation context). Second, the copyright owner may either approve or not be concerned about the music sharing. Incidentally, copyright is not necessarily vested in the performer. Quite often it is held by others e.g. producers and recording firms and often the copyright becomes virtually abandoned once it is recognised that such copyright is not commercially viable.

So if you are the genuine copyright owner of any material made available through this blog and you object to its inclusion, please email me direct on mr.stockman@gmail.com with some details supporting your claim and I'll immediately remove the links. I'll be broken-hearted if you are not intending to make the material available elsewhere, commercial or otherwise, but I will respect your rights.

Please enjoy the music and don't forget to buy the material when it is available from proper sources.