Lyrics Belong Only On Cassette Liner-Notes

The music industry is moving to shut down lyric web sites. If you've ever wondered at the lyrics of a song, and thought to Google "<name of song> lyrics", you know that there are a number of sites that are storehouses of song lyrics submitted by other users. Being non-professional, they aren't necessarily correct, but it's easier, faster and less embarrassing than just asking your friends.  But the top fifty such sites have been served with cease & desist orders.

Unlike most techies, I'm actually okay with people protecting intellectual property. I was still in university when music piracy was starting to become big, and I was one of the few people trying to explain to everyone that file sharing was illegal, and frankly immoral. One of the big songs at the time was Elton John's rerecording of "Candle in the Wind," which was sold for charity, so I tried using it to demonstrate the problem with not paying for music. And as a long time fan of independent music, my mental picture of a musician is more needy that most, so I understand their need to get whatever money is due the them.

Yet, this lyrics crackdown is an example of what I hate about copyright. The argument is that these lyric sites - which make money off advertising - are making money off of other people's creations. That's true, but the fact is that no one else is making money off them. Absolutely no one is going to not buy music because they can read the lyrics on line. And the musicians/record companies are not providing the lyrics themselves. So no one is being prevented from making money by the lyric sites. I could understand their concern if artists or labels were publishing lyrics make money off advertising themselves. It would be a good idea if they did have official lyric sites.  I'd gladly use them, as they'd be more reliable. I might finally learn the opening words to "Sing Me Spanish Techno."

What do you hear?  Lyrics sites are divided between "go to now" and "don't you know."   But it still sounds like "go to hell" to me.  Oh, and remember, you have to buy the album now that you've watched the video.

But no one is making money legally off the lyrics; the lyrics sites are providing a service that the record labels are not willing to, so the record labels and artists are not hurt by them, and they will not gain anything from their disappearance. In other words, I'm okay with protecting the money you make off your own creations, but that doesn't mean you have to prevent anyone else from making money off of them.