I recently had an encounter with a publishing company that I feel I should share with you all.  Here is our correspondence:

Greetings,

I recently reset the text to “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and would  like the score to be available to the public (I do not plan to sell  it).  I have only used the text and not the music.  Would it be  acceptable to put the score on my website providing that I give credit  to Thomas Chisholm for writing the text and specify that your company holds the copyright?

Thank you,

-caleb

Hello, Caleb ~

Thanks for your note.  Unfortunately, what you propose is not allowed. The text to this tune is permanently and exclusively paired with the William Runyan tune, FAITHFULNESS, and that’s the only way we allow it to be used.  So sorry we can’t be more accommodating in this instance.

Jane

Jane,

I see and understand.

Are there any possibilities of using the piece through your company?  I can send a score and a recording for consideration.

-caleb

Caleb,

Our vice president advises that, in a very few instances, he has allowed new music to be used with the original text, but in each instance the copyright for the music was assigned to us.  If you’d like to send that in for our consideration, that’d be fine.  Just address your package to the attention of our editorial dept.

Jane

Jane,

I will discuss the possibility with my professor.  Thank you very much for your time.

-caleb

I have since officially decided that I am never going to sell any of my copyrights.  Please share your thoughts on this.

I am a proud person, just like every other human being under heaven.

MSU composers were selected to have their orchestral works read by the Detroit Symphony.  Had I been selected I would not have participated.  Here are their requirements for part and score preparations:

http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLA%20Guidelines%20Text.htm

The size and weight of paper that is required must be specially imported from Japan and it takes hours and hours of research just to figure out where to get it.  Very few printers in this country can print on this paper.  I don’t have a clue where I would go to get the parts bound the way they want.  This isn’t a project for which you could to go Kinko’s and assume that they will be able to do everything required.

Is there something “low brow” and “unprofessional” about using 8 1/2″ x 11″ 24lb paper and formatting it in a way that is legible and practical?  Is it unreasonable for a professional to have to read music like this?  Can’t a composer format his music well and be done with it?  Can’t we send off a PDF and let them print the parts themselves?

This is yet another example of the arrogance rampant in the classical world.

I’m taking a history class right now that covers 1900 to 1960.  My conclusion from the course is that composers, instrumentalists, conductors, critics, and connoisseurs of classical music in this century are among the proudest people that have ever existed.  I hear lectures, read their biographies, and read their own words only to conclude that they are the most selfish, misguided, and unhappy people I have ever heard of.  I do not envy their fame or the quality of their work because it cost them everything that matters in life.

It is not my intention to upset anyone, but rather to bring attention to the fact that arrogance negates the reason for music’s existence.  From a worldly perspective, it seems to me that the purpose of music is to find enjoyment in learning how to bring enjoyment to others.  It’s about a small group of people working together to bring joy and meaning into the lives of a larger group of people.  It’s about serving and building stronger communities.  It’s about compromising to make something wonderful happen as smoothly as possible.  But instead I see people thinking they’re always right about things that are completely subjective.  I see dehumanizing behavior for the sake of a higher standard of subjective quality.  I see the French and the German music schools hate each other all throughout history instead of collaborating and creating wonderful art that reconciles diverse cultures.  I see self inflicted misery for the sake of meeting impractical standards.  How does any of this benefit anyone?

I want to write music from my heart and let people see the joy I have from seeking a simple quiet life carried out at the feet of my Savior.  I’ll be the first to say that I’m not very good at this yet, but this is what I want for my life.  I don’t understand why anyone would want any more or any less than this.  If an orchestra requires me to meet impractical standards when I can achieve this goal in more effective ways and with less arrogant people, then I will not participate.  Having to order paper from Japan and spend countless hours to meet a pointless standard is not worth getting to hear a slightly better version of my music.  My sample library works just fine to meet my goal, and a collegiate orchestra is more than enough for this composer.

“But don’t you want the best sound possible?  Aren’t you willing to do what it takes to get it?”  My answer is simply, “No.”

I am a proud person, just like every other human being under heaven.

MSU composers were selected to have their orchestral works read by the Detroit Symphony.  Had I been selected I would not have participated.  Here are their requirements for part and score preparations:

http://www.mola-inc.org/MOLA%20Guidelines%20Text.htm

The size and weight of paper that is required must be specially imported from Japan and it takes hours and hours of research just to figure out where to get it.  Very few printers in this country can print on this paper.  I don’t have a clue where I would go to get the parts bound the way they want.  This isn’t a project for which you could to go Kinko’s and assume that they will be able to do everything required.

Is there something “low brow” and “unprofessional” about using 8 1/2″ x 11″ 24lb paper and formatting it in a way that is legible and practical?  Is it unreasonable for a professional to have to read music like this?  Can’t a composer format his music well and be done with it?  Can’t we send off a PDF and let them print the parts themselves?

This is yet another example of the arrogance rampant in the classical world.

I’m taking a history class right now that covers 1900 to 1960.  My conclusion from the course is that composers, instrumentalists, conductors, critics, and connoisseurs of classical music in this century are among the proudest people that have ever existed.  I hear lectures, read their biographies, and read their own words only to conclude that they are the most selfish, misguided, and unhappy people I have ever heard of.  I do not envy their fame or the quality of their work because it cost them everything that matters in life.

It is not my intention to upset anyone, but rather to bring attention to the fact that arrogance negates the reason for music’s existence.  From a worldly perspective, it seems to me that the purpose of music is to find enjoyment in learning how to bring enjoyment to others.  It’s about a small group of people working together to bring joy and meaning into the lives of a larger group of people.  It’s about serving and building stronger communities.  It’s about compromising to make something wonderful happen as smoothly as possible.  But instead I see people thinking they’re always right about things that are completely subjective.  I see dehumanizing behavior for the sake of a higher standard of subjective quality.  I see the French and the German music schools hate each other all throughout history instead of collaborating and creating wonderful art that reconciles diverse cultures.  I see self inflicted misery for the sake of meeting impractical standards.  How does any of this benefit anyone?

I want to write music from my heart and let people see the joy I have from seeking a simple quiet life carried out at the feet of my Savior.  I’ll be the first to say that I’m not very good at this yet, but this is what I want for my life.  I don’t understand why anyone would want any more or any less than this.  If an orchestra requires me to meet impractical standards when I can achieve this goal in more effective ways and with less arrogant people, then I will not participate.  Having to order paper from Japan and spend countless hours to meet a pointless standard is not worth getting to hear a slightly better version of my music.  My sample library works just fine to meet my goal, and a collegiate orchestra is more than enough for this composer.

“But don’t you want the best sound possible?  Aren’t you willing to do what it takes to get it?”  My answer is simply, “No.”