Copyright
Provisional version, awaiting legal review.
Songs have authors, composers, translators and performers. We respect their rights.
Song page without lyrics
Until the right to publish the text is proven (protected song or unverified rights), the page shows the title, the author, the first line, the tune and, if it has been verified, a YouTube link, without the lyrics. This is the display we use in that case.
Proven rights for each layer
A song is made of layers: the original text, each translation, the melody, the arrangement where applicable and the recording. Each layer has its own rights status.
A layer is published only when its rights are proven: verified public domain, a license or written permission. Without proof, it is not published. Public domain follows the US rule: the author died more than 70 years ago and the work was published more than 95 years ago, with these thresholds moving forward every year. For an anonymous or traditional author or composer, the publication date is enough; never for a translator. A translation is judged on its own translator. A recording always requires permission.
Report content
If you think some content infringes your rights or contains a mistake, write to us from the Contact page. Give the page address, the layer concerned (text, translation, melody or recording) and the reason. Removed content disappears from the site at once; a reader who had opened it may keep an offline copy for at most 30 days without a connection.