It's So Easy to Scan—Why Not?

Digital reproduction of music, audio, and video has become so easy to do that we all feel as if it’s normal. However, copyright law governs this reproduction/duplication. No matter whether the reproduction is on paper or a hard drive, any form of reproduction of a work is something that requires permission from a creator or rightsholder.

The following information is excerpted from Copyright Handbook for Music Educators and Directors .

Is it permissible to scan printed music, without permission?

Generally not. Until the last few years, copying printed music meant photocopying. Now there are many ways to copy or reproduce print music. These are still considered reproductions so the following would not be permissible unless prior permission is obtained from the rightsholder.

1. Scanning printed music and posting the files on a school website, secure or unsecure, is not allowed. This is, in essence, another form of copying parts so that the students do not lose them, allowing the school to avoid purchasing replacements.
2. Posting recordings in any form (MP3, .wav, .aau, etc.) is not allowed. This includes both complete recordings or recordings of a part. It is fine to post a link to a legally streamed recording. Refer to Chapter 5 for additional information.
3. Scanning and sending music to educators for all-state auditions or advance practice is a copyright infringement. A license from the publisher should be requested.
4. Scanning for archival purposes is generally not permissible. A school would need to secure a license from the publisher. When in doubt, contact the publisher for a license. As a general rule, if a scan is being made, a fee will be charged. Many K–12 schools have policies that prohibit scanning copyrighted material into school iPads, Chromebooks, and other tablets.

What about projecting on Smart Boards?

It is permitted to project music on a Smart Board or other projection device one image at a time to viewers who are present where the copy is located. It is not permissible to project the image to multiple classrooms. [ See Section 109(c) of the U .S. Copyright Act of 1976 for more information. ]

You may have heard about the Music Modernization Act of 2018 that has recently passed. One big focus of this legislation involved payment for digital delivery of older recordings. There could also be some changes to the way mechanical licenses are created but no one is sure what that means yet. Regulations and procedures still need to be created to implement the law that was passed. In addition, the act sets regular royalty rates for streamed audio and provides for payment to engineers and producers. Will this act change the laws as they apply to educational use? Not as far as my co-author and I can tell at this point.

The content of this article is excerpted from Copyright Handbook for Music Educators and Directors by Pam Phillips and Andrew Surmani. For additional resources, see Music Publishing: The Complete Guide , by Steve Winogradsky. For the definitive law, visit copyright.gov and/or consult with an intellectual property attorney.