Musikpiraten

Musikpiraten e. V. was a German registered association (eingetragener Verein) founded in June 2009 by musicians and members of the Pirate Party Germany. Its stated purpose was the "promotion of free culture with a focus on music as an artistic means of expression." The association operated as a non-profit cultural brand rather than a commercial label, and its activities centred on Creative Commons-licensed music, open songbooks, and advocacy for free musical culture in Germany. In its founding year the association launched the Free! Music! Contest, a competition modelled on the Open Music Contest and open only to bands and musicians who publish their works under a Creative Commons licence. According to the organisers, more than 130 artists from around 30 countries took part in 2010, an international reach helped by the author Cory Doctorow serving as patron. Participating or performing bands included all:my:faults, Pornophonique, David Rovics and Raziel Jamaerah. In March 2010 the association ran "#37cc – eine Woche freie Musik," a networking project for music bloggers in which 70 participants recommended Creative Commons-licensed music via Twitter, identi.ca and their blogs. In December 2010 it published a songbook of public-domain Christmas carols. A defining episode came after GEMA, the German music rights society, sent a nationwide letter to day-care centres in 2010 demanding 56 euros for 500 photocopies of sheet music. Musikpiraten responded by producing a songbook of public-domain children's songs and distributing it free to all day-care centres in Germany. More than 40,000 euros were donated within weeks, allowing 54,800 songbooks to be produced and distributed; an instrumental version of all songs was released for download in September and could also be ordered free on CD. After producing and releasing a compilation of the 2011 Free! Music! Contest winning tracks under a CC licence, GEMA sued Musikpiraten e. V., demanding disclosure of the real names of two members of the band "texasradiofish," who had published under pseudonyms. GEMA refused to confirm that the track was GEMA-free, arguing it could not be ruled out that the musicians were contracted to a collecting society (the so-called GEMA presumption). Musikpiraten argued that a licence claim should be excluded by the German copyright law's provision for pseudonymous and anonymous publication. On 27 August 2012 the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main ruled in GEMA's favour, ordering Musikpiraten to pay the amount in dispute of 68 euros plus interest, but allowed an appeal to the Landgericht because of the case's fundamental importance. The appeal was dismissed by the Frankfurt Landgericht on 5 September 2013, and no further appeal was permitted because of the low amount in dispute. On 1 December 2013 Musikpiraten published the third edition of its public-domain song collection "Singen im Advent," available both as a PDF download and in printed form. The association was dissolved by resolution of its members' meeting in December 2022, and its website now serves as a notice of dissolution.

Musikpiraten e. V. was founded in June 2009 by musicians and members of the Pirate Party Germany. Its stated goal was the "promotion of free culture with a focus on music as an artistic means of expression." From the outset the association combined cultural production with advocacy for open licensing, operating as a registered non-profit rather than a commercial music business. In its founding year it held the first Free! Music! Contest, a competition modelled on the Open Music Contest and restricted to bands and musicians who release their works under a Creative Commons licence. The contest gained unusual international visibility when the author Cory Doctorow agreed to serve as patron; according to the organisers, more than 130 artists from around 30 countries took part in 2010. Bands that took part or performed included all:my:faults, Pornophonique, David Rovics and Raziel Jamaerah. In March 2010 the association organised "#37cc – eine Woche freie Musik," a networking project for music bloggers in which 70 participants recommended Creative Commons-licensed music through Twitter, identi.ca and their blogs. In December 2010 it published a songbook of public-domain Christmas carols. The association's best-known campaign followed GEMA's 2010 nationwide letter to day-care centres demanding 56 euros for 500 photocopies of sheet music. Musikpiraten decided to publish a songbook of public-domain children's songs and distribute it free of charge to every day-care centre in Germany. More than 40,000 euros were donated within weeks, enabling the production and distribution of 54,800 songbooks. In September an instrumental version of all the songs was released for download and could also be ordered free on CD from the association. After producing and releasing a compilation of the 2011 Free! Music! Contest winning tracks under a CC licence, Musikpiraten became involved in litigation with GEMA. GEMA sued the association and demanded the disclosure of the real names of two members of the band "texasradiofish," who had published their music with Musikpiraten under pseudonyms. GEMA refused to confirm that the track in question was GEMA-free, since it could not be excluded that the musicians were under contract with a collecting society, making the track subject to GEMA (the GEMA presumption). Musikpiraten argued that a licence claim should be excluded by the possibility of pseudonymous and anonymous publication enshrined in German copyright law. On 27 August 2012 the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main ruled in GEMA's favour and ordered Musikpiraten e. V. to pay the amount in dispute of 68 euros plus interest, but allowed an appeal to the Landgericht because of the case's fundamental importance. The appeal was dismissed by the Frankfurt Landgericht on 5 September 2013, and further legal remedies were not admitted because of the low amount in dispute. On 1 December 2013 Musikpiraten published the third edition of its public-domain song collection "Singen im Advent." Like its predecessors, the book could be downloaded as a PDF or ordered in printed form. The association was dissolved by resolution of its members' meeting in December 2022, bringing its activities to an end.

• 2022

  Association dissolved by resolution of the members' meeting in December.

• 2013

  5 September: Frankfurt Landgericht dismisses the appeal; no further legal remedies admitted.

• 2013

  1 December: third edition of the public-domain song collection "Singen im Advent" published.

• 2012

  27 August: Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main rules in GEMA's favour, ordering payment of 68 euros plus interest, but allows appeal.

• 2011

  Compilation of Free! Music! Contest 2011 winning tracks released under a CC licence.

• 2010

  More than 130 artists from around 30 countries take part in the Free! Music! Contest; Cory Doctorow serves as patron.

• 2010

  March: "#37cc – eine Woche freie Musik" networking project for music bloggers with 70 participants.

• 2010

  December: publication of a songbook of public-domain Christmas carols.

• 2010

  After GEMA demands photocopy fees from day-care centres, Musikpiraten produces and distributes 54,800 free children's songbooks funded by over 40,000 euros in donations.

• 2009

  Musikpiraten e. V. founded in June by musicians and members of the Pirate Party Germany.

• 2009

  First Free! Music! Contest held in the founding year.

Non-profit cultural association promoting free culture and Creative Commons-licensed music in Germany.

• Free! Music! Contest

  Competition for bands and musicians releasing under Creative Commons licences, modelled on the Open Music Contest.

• Public-domain children's songbook

  Songbook of public-domain children's songs distributed free to all day-care centres in Germany; 54,800 copies produced.

• Singen im Advent

  Collection of public-domain songs; third edition published 1 December 2013, available as PDF and in print.

• Free! Music! Contest 2011 compilation

  Compilation of winning tracks released under a CC licence, which led to the GEMA lawsuit.

1. 1Vereinsauflösung | mkzae.github.iomusik.klarmachen-zum-aendern.de
2. 2Musikpiraten (Verein) – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Musikpiraten – Wikidatawikidata.org