You will notice that there is an extremely limited amount of audio on RootsWorld. The full songs in these pages are made available with the express written permission of the owners of the work... the composers and performers who make the music happen. This ensures that we are not infringing on copyrights and royalty agreements while still supplying you with some of the more unique music being written and performed today.

One of the goals of RootsWorld is to give the reader as full an understanding of the music we review as possible. A great ways to do this on the Internet is via reviews and articles that include short sound samples. But there are lots of constraints. Copyrights of both songs and recordings make it impossible to include full three to six minute pieces because the royalties for such use are exorbitant. File size and quality are also important issues. Both the limits in storage on our server and the time it takes you to download WAV and AU files make using CD quality audio near impossible.

BUT we do feel we can offer some good music in spite of this. Most of the music we review is from individual artists, composers and small labels, all of who are cooperative about giving their permission. Many of the larger sound samples are intentionally chosen because they are in the public domain; folk songs and such, recorded by our writers and friends, of performances of traditional material. We hope to include more and more of this original content as time goes on.

We also feel that, as an editorial magazine, we can offer a lot of material under the "fair use" clauses of the U.S. Copyright Act. The 10-30 second clips that we offer more than fall into that vision of fair use. That is why a lot of things here are kept purposely short, to protect both the writers and artists from unfair pirating of their work, and to protect us (and ultimately, you) from fees from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, etc. When and if they come up with reasonable rates based on minimum "revenue streams" (ASCAP and BMI currently feel that $30,000 is a representative "minimum!") we will be able to get a license, and offer you full stream Real Audio of full songs. Until then, use these short samples as a window into the artists vision and a useful if small part of the review or article.

We just want you to know that we do all we can to respect YOUR intelligence, the rights of the artists, and the rights of a free and open press on the Internet.

Thanks,

Cliff Furnald,
The Editor

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For you personal edification: (emphasis added)

From the UNITED STATES CODE
COPYRIGHTS
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

• (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
• (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
• (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

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