The IMSLP homepage as of August 2011 |
|
| URL | imslp.org or petruccilibrary.org |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | No |
| Type of site | Music score library |
| Registration | Optional (required for contributing) |
| Available language(s) | Catalan, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Owner | Project Petrucci LLC |
| Created by | Edward W. Guo (Feldmahler)[1] |
| Launched | February 16, 2006 |
| Current status |
Reopened (June 30, 2008) |
The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle. Since its launch on February 16, 2006, over 150,000 scores and 6,500 recordings for over 47,000 works by over 6,700 composers have been uploaded. The project uses MediaWiki software to provide contributors with a familiar interface. Since 6 June 2010, IMSLP has also included public domain and licensed recordings in its scope, to allow for study by ear.
Contents |
The site was launched on February 16, 2006. The library consists mainly of scans of old musical editions out of copyright. In addition, it admits scores by contemporary composers who wish to share their music with the world by releasing it under a Creative Commons license. One of the main projects of IMSLP was the sorting and uploading of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (1851–99), a task that was completed on November 3, 2008. Besides J.S. Bach's complete public domain works, all of Beethoven's, Brahms's, Canteloube's, Chabrier's, Chausson's, Chopin's, Corelli's, Debussy's, D'Indy's, Dukas's, Fauré's, Ferroud's, Handel's, Huré's, Magnard's, Palestrina's, Ravel's, Roussel's, Satie's, Schmitt's, Schubert's, Schumann's, Scriabin's, Sibelius's, a large percentage of Mozart's, Liszt's, and others are available as well.
Besides providing a digital repository, IMSLP offers possibilities as a musicological encyclopaedia, since multiple and historical editions of a single composition can be uploaded, and musicological analyses and historical commentaries accompany the scores. Also, pages on publishers provide valuable information, and the work pages themselves often contain a large quantity of information, e.g. roles in an opera.
IMSLP is recommended as a research tool by MIT,[2][3] which also uses it extensively for providing scores for its OpenCourseWare courses.[4][5] It is suggested as a resource by the Sibley Music Library[6] and by libraries at other universities such as Stanford University,[7] University of California, Los Angeles,[8] Brown University,[9] University of Pennsylvania,[10] University of Wisconsin–Madison,[11] Oberlin Conservatory of Music,[12] Manhattan School of Music[13] University of Maryland,[14] University of Washington,[15] University of Cincinnati,[16] University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,[17] Appalachian State University[18] in the US, McGill University[19] in Canada, University of Oxford,[20] University of Cambridge,[21] University of Edinburgh [22] University of Bristol [23] in the UK, University of Melbourne [24] in Australia, and others.
In 2009, IMSLP won the MERLOT Classics award for Music.[25] It was named one of the Top 100 Web Sites of 2009 (in the "Undiscovered" subsection) by PC Magazine.[26]
On October 19, 2007 the IMSLP closed following legal demands from Universal Edition of Vienna, Austria.[27] The cease and desist letter expressed concern that some works that are in public domain in the server's location in Canada with copyright protection of 50 years post-mortem, but which are protected by the 70 years post mortem term in some other countries, were available in those countries. The administrator of the website, known under the nickname Feldmahler, decided to close down the repository, but left the forums online so that discussions into the best way to proceed could be made:[28]
On Saturday October 13, 2007, I received a second Cease and Desist letter from Universal Edition. At first I thought this letter would be similar in content to the first Cease and Desist letter I received in August. However, after lengthy discussions with very knowledgeable lawyers and supporters, I became painfully aware of the fact that I, a normal college student, has neither the energy nor the money necessary to deal with this issue in any other way than to agree with the cease and desist, and take down the entire site. I cannot apologize enough to all IMSLP contributors, who have done so much for IMSLP in the last two years.
—Feldmahler (project leader)
In response, director Michael S. Hart of Project Gutenberg offered support to keep the project online.[29] This offer was declined by Feldmahler, who voiced concern about having the project hosted in the United States, and consulted the Canadian wing of Project Gutenberg.[28] On November 2, 2007, Michael Geist, a prominent Canadian copyright academic, wrote an article for the BBC discussing the specifics and the wider implications of this case.[30]
This case is enormously important
from a public domain perspective.
IMSLP went back online on June 30, 2008. Since its reopening, IMSLP has been using a strict copyright policy, where uploaded files are only made accessible for download after the copyright status for three most frequent copyright regimes has been reviewed by staff members. Although the server is located in Canada, files which are not public domain in the US were until July 2010 flagged [TB], for 'Technical Block' or 'Temporary Block', and could not be viewed. The FAQ posted in their forum stated, "Unfortunately, these 'temporary' blocks will be until further notice – possibly all the way until the expiration of term in the USA." [31] However, if a work is public domain in Canada and the EU but not in the US, it can be downloaded legally via the new EU server, so a work is now only blocked with [TB] if it is under copyright in both the US and the EU.
On 21 April 2011, the Music Publishers Association (UK) issued a DMCA takedown notice against the IMSLP. Go Daddy, the domain name registrar for the IMSLP, removed the domain name "imslp.org", leaving it inaccessible.[32] The MPA's argument was similar to that made in 2007 by Universal Edition. In particular, the MPA claimed that Rachmaninoff's 1913 choral symphony The Bells violated US and EU copyright.[33] According to the IMSLP, the action is without any merit.[34] Almost 24 hours later, the MPA (UK) announced on Twitter that they had asked Go Daddy to reinstate the domain name.[35]
On July 10, 2010, a forum thread[36] announced the opening of a new server, located in the Netherlands. This server allows works which are public domain in Canada and the EU to be downloaded legally, even if they are under copyright in the US. The server is run by an unaffiliated European organization. Files on the EU server are flagged (EU).
A similar, also unaffiliated US server allows users to download works public domain only in the US. Unlike the other servers, this one can only be contributed to by administrators and users who have asked for the privilege, though the files are freely accessible for download.
On August 23, 2011, an announcement[37] was made that the Werner Icking Music Archive would merge with IMSLP. WIMA had announced the merge on its own site five days before in an open letter to contributors.[38] After working out some technical issues, IMSLP decided to officially commence the merge on August 28. Once the merge is completed, virtually the entire collection of WIMA will form part of IMSLP.
IMSLP states on its site[39] that it is owned by Project Petrucci LLC. Physical contact information is provided, listing only an address in the United States.