Finally!! The day is over, the kids are in bed, all your work is done, and now all you want to do is turn on the computer and surf the net. Find some of those MIDIs you like to listen to, and just relax. You click your favorite link. The page loads. WHAT??? Page can't be found? Oh well, the server must be down, it happens all the time. So you click the next one on your list. Same thing. What's going on?
You try a few more, and get the same type of page. Now your thinking, is the whole internet down? Maybe it's my connection. So you click on a link to somewhere that you know always works. And sure enough, it does. Now your really confused. How can all these pages be down? You decide to try one more.
As it starts to load, you breathe a sigh of relief. At least IT'S not down! You wait for it to load up, and look to see if there are any new changes or new MIDIs. Hey, what's that? Due to the MIDI problem, all links to MIDIs are no longer working? What is going on? Where have all the MIDI sites gone? What MIDI problem? All you wanted to do was go to your favorite MIDI sites that you have been going to since you found the internet and discovered MIDIs, and listen to a few. What are you going to do now?
Does this sound familiar to you? Have you been having the same problem? Hopefully after reading this, you will get an idea of what is going on and what YOU can do to help.
If you are missing your favorite sites, well, the answer is very simple. Some MIDI website owners have been sued by TMI aka Trycho Music International aka Stephen Kern. No warnings, no requests to remove the MIDIs, just a summons delivered by the local sheriff's dept.
Don't believe that? Click here to see how many site owners have been sued by this one person. Even credit card companies and banks will give you a warning notice first before having a summons issued.
Some of the more "lucky" website owners are just told to remove their site immediately by The Harry Fox Agency, ASCAP, BMI and possibly other music agencies, OR pay royalties in excess of $500,000 USD. Others just had their pages deleted, without any warning, by the server that hosts them. And still others are just afraid of the whole thing and removed the pages themselves.
Sounds unfair doesn't it? Well it is! The music industry does all they can to make their songs a part of our lives, then say, "I'm sorry, but you have to pay me if you want to use this music." Which is fine, if you are making money from using their songs. And, everyone has that "special" song. You know, the one you shared when you first fell in love, the one you play when everything is getting you down. Remember the first song you ever learned? Mine was "The ABC Song". If that song was written after 1924, then technically you have to wait 95 years from the day it was copyrighted before you can legally use it for free.
But what if you have a personal website that you do as a hobby or for fun and not for money? Then what are you supposed to do? Pay hundreds and thousands of dollars just to be able to share with others for free? Of course, you wouldn't be able to do THAT anymore. You would have to charge for each and every MIDI. And your not doing this as a business. Sadly, you shut down your pages that you worked so hard on and are so proud of. If you would like to read more details about this, and what is happening to website owners, CLICK HERE.
And if you would REALLY like to help to get your favorite MIDIs back on the interent, then show your support and help with the fight to "FREE THE MIDI". Let's show them that we won't just give up what we believe in. Our plan is to ask Congress to add the "Personal Web Site" to the Fair Use section of the Copyright Act. And the majority of MIDI websites are just that, personal websites. A way to share the love of music with others for free. And with your help, we can become one BIG voice that can't be ignored! So, if you enjoy listening to MIDIs, please CLICK HERE to become a support member and join the MRA Newsletter. It's free, and it's for a really good cause. And do it before personal MIDI sites become "Dust In The Wind".
Click the back button below (frames or no frames) to go to my MIDI Pages. Please think about what you have read and join the MRA Newsletter. You only get one newsletter a month and as someone who likes MIDIs (you came here didn't you?), you really should join.
