What are the copyright restrictions on scores I can submit?
This FAQ does not apply to SibeliusMusic Stores. We only accept: • scores composed entirely by you; or • out-of-copyright music arranged by you. In addition, any lyrics in your score must be written by you, be out of copyright, or else you must have permission from the copyright holder. A more detailed explanation of copyright is as follows: Different people involved in creating a piece of music may own copyright in it – the composer, arranger (if it’s an arrangement), lyricist (if it has lyrics), and editor (if it’s e.g. an edition of a classical work). So a piece may have more than one copyright owner. Each of these people typically owns copyright in the aspect of the music they worked on until 70 years after their death. Thereafter it is ‘out of copyright’. You must ensure that, for all scores you submit: • you are the (sole) composer, or else the composer died more than 70 years ago; and • if it’s an arrangement, you wrote the original tune/piece arranged, or the arranger died more
