Any one else out there wanting to learn this? I can’t think of anyone better to teach it. Nudge nudge wink wink. I can’t think of a better teacher for this. Maybe there are copy right issues? Ben can ya help us out?!
The ballad of Jed Clampet
Ben can’t do that one yet because of copyright issues. Have you checked online for it?
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There are several TAB arrangements over on the BHO…
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I don’t know how long this link will last, but here’s a tab:
Ban-BalladJedClampett.pdf (61.1 KB) Ban-BalladJedClampett.tef (2.7 KB)
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Your the best Banjo Ben!!!
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Ben, what does it take to get the rights to teach Scruggs stuff? Can you offer to sell his stuff in your store?
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 
: I Guess
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Excellent!
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It’s a few thousand bucks per song to get the contractual stuff done, then more money in reporting/royalties. Right now I don’t have the infrastructure to properly report it, etc.
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Good grief. You’d think the industry would make it easier for people to make money. Sounds like the lawyers are the ones making out.
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In the interest of encouraging new folks to learn blue grass music and that this is a learning site one would think they could make it easier.
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To be fair, I don’t think it’s just about bluegrass music. Ben’s trying to navigate the treacherous waters of entertainment law to keep his web site legal. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of laws he has to abide by, which is why it probably costs so much for the contractual stuff. Only an attorney could understand how to keep everything on the level.
Still, even if Ben does everything by the book, there’s no guarantee he won’t get sued. Anyone can sue anyone else for anything.
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I’m not saying not to get permission.
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I don’t understand how some can teach it and some cant TBH…
Bill Nesbitt teaches Ballad of Jed Clampet along with many others that must be copyright controlled…
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Hi Lee, Would you risk loosing your livelihood and main source of income if there was a slightest chance you could be sued?
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It’s not a can or can’t issue. If you teach copyrighted material, you’re breaking the law. Just because no one has gone after Bill doesn’t mean they won’t.
As Archie said, Ben just isn’t willing to take the risk as this site is his primary income stream. BanjoBenClark.com is the largest site of its kind. That makes Ben the biggest target.
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Here in the UK you don’t hear much about copyright law but in the US it’s big business for Lawyers who earn serious bucks from law suits. Drooling Banjo’s is a classic example. I do believe Hal Leonard is one publisher that’s seeks to recover royalties due on any of their published materials.
A few years back @BanjoBen was looking into setting up some way to offer copyright lessons through the website but the current website is not setup/ suitable to offer this. Not sure if this project is still on the table. Maybe Ben can offer an update on this.
The one good thing about this site is that you are learning the skills required to play copyright tunes and create your own tunes if that’s your goal.
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I totally understand that, @Lee_G, and I wondered the same. I used to have some Scruggs stuff on the site. Actually a friend/competitor approached me about it and gave me the warning. There was a tab site in the Northeast that got shutdown, essentially overnight, because the lawyers wanted to make an example out of them. He warned me because my site was gaining more attention that I should be careful. I reached out to several lawyers, finally found one in Chicago that sued people like me, and he told me: yes, you are liable for $50k for each occurrence (meaning each person that receives a tab) and they don’t have to give a cease and desist. They could literally send me a letter out of the blue saying they’re suing me for millions of dollars, and I’d have no defense (ignorance doesn’t work).
I don’t think I’m the largest site (but thanks anyway, @Mark_Rocka!), but I am one of the most well-known. What I’ve learned in the last year, especially on the General Store side, is that competitors like to point out to the authorities things you may be doing wrong. I don’t knowingly break any laws, I’ll also say I don’t break any laws. I also know that if I did break any laws, knowingly or not, I have several dozen folks that want a bigger piece of the pie and would gladly blow the whistle on me.
One of my main goals for 2020 is to instill an accounting/reporting system that would allow me to begin legally offering copyrighted material. It is legal for copyrighted tabs to be posted in this forum but not behind a paywall.
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Bill Nesbitt teaches online for free, everything on his website is free, his main income stream is personal lessons and he can teach anything there also
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He cannot legally teach anything in personal lessons. That is against the law. “So Ben, are you saying that thousands of guitar teachers break the law everyday as they teach Sweet Home Alabama to a local 13-year-old?” Yep, they are breaking the law, there’s just no way to enforce it.
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