The idea behind this website's donation system.
Copy machines
I guess it was somewhere around 1978, when the copy machines started
to become usual in schools and libraries. For a small amount of money
everyone could copy out sheet music. This was much cheaper than buying
the book. It's not difficult to understand that sheet music publisher did NOT
like this, and they started to print signs in their books, to tell the people that
they should not copy their music.
PDF's, online lessons, e-books and music.
In our time it is even more complicated than it was in 1978.
How do you sell a PDF? How do you sell an e-book?
How do you teach via the internet, and how can you get payed for it?
Isn't it a shame to have to add that many negative regulations (don't print this,
don't copy it, don't play it on a concert without permission) in answer to the
enthousiasm of your customers?
Not allowed to lend out
A few weeks ago I bought an e-book and got many warnings before I could
open my book. Not only copying is forbidden, but also lending out my book
is against the law.
Does that mean that it is illegal for my husband to read the book I bought?
Everything free?
Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to ignore everything around those
copyright-laws?
To work, to compose, to write, and only feel good when the people around
me like it to work with my music or books?
To be happy when they give it to other people and copy it to hand it out?
I would love it to say: Here is my music for all of you. Download it and see
if you can use it. Ofcourse you may copy it, as often as you want!
How much it costs? Nothing.
???
Nice idea, but how can an author or a composer live without money?
Donations
And this is why I added my donation buttons.
Everyone who plays my music, reads my (Dutch) stories, and/or follows
my transposing lessons, and who would like to make a voluntary donation
can use those donation buttons.
And no, you don't have to do this. Feel free to download my PDF's without paying.
I am in complete confident there will be enough people who will make a
donation to make my work cost-effective.
The advantage of this system is: freedom
As well for me als for the people who like my products.
Restaurant in France
I'm not the only one who works with this system.
Someone told me about an unusual restaurant in France: The customer decides
what he or she wants to pay for a meal.
On the internet I found this idea explained on next site:
Writersfreedom.
Click on 'Model' and you'll find a very clear explanation of this system.
Kevin Kelly wrote an essay about what on the internet is valuable and what not.
His thoughts about this subject were another reason to start my donation system.
Essay by Kevin Kelly.
And of course it also looks like 'shareware', the system used for many
computer products. First you get the product, if you like it you pay, if not,
you don't pay at all.
Not everything
Not everything on my site is going to be free.
- The Dutch fantasy 'De Verlorenen' is published by Boekscout.nl.
Of course I'm not allowed to hand it out for free.
- The guitar solo 'Fleur' is published by 'Clear Note.'
- The cd-album with guitar and piano music.
But the rest is going to be free, although it will take a while before I've made
PDF's of all my sheet music.
Margriet Verbeek - May 2009
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