[LINK] Musopen raises $40,000 to set classical music "free"

[Kim Holburn]

http://www.musopen.com/

> A radio host recently "referred to me as a Communist," says  
> Musopen's Aaron Dunn. Music professors berate him by e-mail because  
> his project is "like Napster." Dunn's crime? Setting music free.
>
> In fact, though, Dunn's version of "freedom" looks little like  
> Napster. Instead of distributing a recording without permission,  
> Dunn raises money, hires orchestras to record terrific classical  
> music ("I was a bassoon student," he says) that has fallen into the  
> public domain, and then makes those recordings available to anyone,  
> for any reason.
>
> Those reasons might include using Beethoven's "Für Elise" in an  
> indie film—indie filmmakers being some of Musopen's heaviest users— 
> but Dunn has heard from shows like Mythbusters who also needed a bit  
> of classical music for a segment. Wikipedia uses Musopen music to  
> illustrate its entries on classical music.
>


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Kim Holburn
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