International Music

Score Library
Project

The International Music Score Library

Project (IMSLP), also known as the
Petrucci Music Library after publisher
Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based
project for the creation of a virtual library
of public-domain music scores. Since its
launch on February 16, 2006, over 370,000
scores and 42,000 recordings for over
110,000 works by over 14,000 composers
have been uploaded. Based on the wiki
principle, the project uses MediaWiki
software. Since June 6, 2010, the IMSLP
has also included public domain and
licensed recordings in its scope, to allow
for study by ear.
 IMSLP
Petrucci Music Library

Screenshot

IMSLP main page in January 2016

Type of site Online library of sheet

music
Available in Asturian Catalan
Chinese Danish Dutch
English French
German Greek Italian
Japanese Korean
Macedonian Polish
Portuguese Russian
Spanish Swedish
Turkish

Headquarters Canada

Owner Project Petrucci LLC

(private company)

Created by Edward W. Guo

(Feldmahler)[1]
Website imslp.org ;
petruccilibrary.org
Alexa rank 4,976[2]

Commercial Yes (subscription)

Registration Optional (required for

contributing and
unconstrained access)

Launched February 16, 2006

Current status Active

Content licence Creative Commons

Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 International

History
Overview
The site was launched on February 16,
2006. The library consists mainly of scans
of old musical editions out of copyright. In
addition, it admits scores by contemporary
composers who wish to share their music
with the world by releasing it under a
Creative Commons license. One of the
main projects of the IMSLP was the
sorting and uploading of the complete
works of Johann Sebastian Bach in the
Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (1851–99), a
task that was completed on November 3,
2008. Besides J.S. Bach's complete public
domain works, all public domain works of
Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms,
Joseph Canteloube, Emmanuel Chabrier,
Ernest Chausson, Frédéric Chopin, Joseph
Haydn, Arcangelo Corelli, Claude Debussy,
Vincent d'Indy, Paul Dukas, Gabriel Fauré,
Pierre-Octave Ferroud, George Frideric
Handel, Jean Huré, Albéric Magnard,
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Maurice
Ravel, Albert Roussel, Erik Satie, Florent
Schmitt, Franz Schubert, Robert
Schumann, Alexander Scriabin and Jean
Sibelius are available, as well as a large
percentage of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Liszt, and the works of many others
as well.

Besides providing a digital repository, the

IMSLP offers possibilities as a
musicological encyclopaedia, since
multiple and historical editions of a single
composition can be uploaded. Also, pages
on publishers provide valuable
information, and the work pages
themselves often contain a large quantity
of information, e.g. roles in an opera.

IMSLP is recommended as a research tool

by MIT,[3][4] which also uses it extensively
for providing scores for its
OpenCourseWare courses.[5][6] It is
suggested as a resource by the Sibley
Music Library[7] and by libraries at other
universities such as Stanford University,[8]
University of California, Los Angeles,[9]
Brown University,[10] University of
Pennsylvania,[11] University of Wisconsin–
Madison,[12] Oberlin Conservatory of
Music,[13] Manhattan School of Music[14]
University of Maryland,[15] University of
Washington,[16] University of Cincinnati,[17]
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee,[18]
Appalachian State University[19] in the US,
McGill University[20] in Canada, University
of Oxford,[21] University of Cambridge,[22]
University of Edinburgh[23] University of
Bristol[24] in the UK, University of
Melbourne[25] in Australia, and others.

Logo

IMSLP logo (2007–2015)

The blue letter featured in Petrucci Music Library logo,
used in 2007–2015, was based on the first printed
book of music, the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton,
published by Ottaviano Petrucci in 1501.[26]

In 2007–2015, the IMSLP / Petrucci Music

Library used a logo based on a score. The
score image in the background was taken
from the beginning of the very first printed
book of music, the Harmonice Musices
Odhecaton. It was published in Venice,
Italy in 1501 by Ottaviano Petrucci, the
library's namesake.[26]

In 2016, the IMSLP changed its logo to a

clean wordmark, featuring its two project
names—IMSLP and Petrucci Music Library.

Awards

In 2009, the IMSLP won the MERLOT

Classics award for Music.[27] It was named
one of the Top 100 Web Sites of 2009 (in
the "Undiscovered" subsection) by PC
Magazine.[28] In 2018, Edward Guo was
honored with The Helen Rice Award by the
Associated Chamber Music Players
(ACMP) Foundation in recognition of those
who have moved the chamber music world
in a new directions.[29]

Closure and reopening

On October 19, 2007, the IMSLP closed

following legal demands from Universal
Edition of Vienna, Austria.[30] The cease
and desist letter expressed concern that
some works that are in public domain in
the server's location in Canada with
copyright protection of 50 years following
death, but are protected by the 70 years
following death term in some other
countries, were available in those
countries. The administrator of the
website, Edward W. Guo, also known under
the nickname Feldmahler, decided to close
down the repository, but left the forums
online so that discussions into the best
way to proceed could be made:[31]

On Saturday October 13, 2007, I

received a second Cease and
Desist letter from Universal
Edition. At first I thought this
letter would be similar in
content to the first Cease and
Desist letter I received in
August. However, after lengthy
discussions with very
knowledgeable lawyers and
supporters, I became painfully
aware of the fact that I, a
normal college student, has
neither the energy nor the
money necessary to deal with
this issue in any other way than
to agree with the cease and
 desist, and take down the entire
site. I cannot apologize enough
to all IMSLP contributors, who
have done so much for IMSLP in
the last two years.

— Feldmahler (project
leader)

In response, director Michael S. Hart of

Project Gutenberg offered support to keep
the project online.[32] This offer was
declined by Guo, who voiced concern
about having the project hosted in the
United States, and consulted the Canadian
wing of Project Gutenberg.[31] On
November 2, 2007, Michael Geist, a
prominent Canadian copyright academic,
wrote an article for the BBC discussing the
specifics and the wider implications of this
case.[33]

IMSLP
This case is enormously important
went from a public domain perspective.
back
Michael Geist
online
on June
30, 2008. Since its reopening, the site has
been using a strict copyright policy
wherein uploaded files are made
accessible for download only after the
copyright status for three most frequent
copyright regimes has been reviewed by
staff members. Although the server is
located in Canada, files that are not public
domain in the US were until July 2010
flagged [TB], for 'Technical Block' or
'Temporary Block', and could not be
viewed. The FAQ posted in their forum
stated, "Unfortunately, these 'temporary'
blocks will be until further notice –
possibly all the way until the expiration of
term in the USA."[34] After an initial phase,
[TB] flagged items have essentially
disappeared thanks to the introduction of
regional servers operated by unaffiliated
organizations (see next).

On 21 April 2011, the Music Publishers

Association (UK) issued a DMCA
takedown notice against the IMSLP. Go
Daddy, the domain name registrar for the
IMSLP, removed the domain name
"imslp.org", leaving it inaccessible. The
MPA's argument was similar to that made
in 2007 by Universal Edition. In particular,
the MPA claimed that Rachmaninoff's
1913 choral symphony The Bells violated
US and EU copyright.[35] According to the
IMSLP, the action is without any merit.[36]
Almost 24 hours later, the MPA (UK)
announced on Twitter that they had asked
Go Daddy to reinstate the domain
name.[37]

On November 7, 2017, the IMSLP received

a cease and desist letter from the heirs of
Sergei Prokofiev expressing concern that
the composer's music was available for
download in countries where his music
was still under copyright protection. This
demand was followed up by a separate
letter from the National Music Publishers
Association on January 19, 2018. On
February 23, 2018, access to all
compositions by Prokofiev was blocked by
the IMSLP in response to these legal
threats. The issues were partially resolved
on the IMSLP forums in July 2018,
resulting in the reupload of Prokofiev's pre-
1923 works. In August, the remainder of
Prokofiev's works were reuploaded so that
they would only be available in the
countries they are allowed in.

Subscription introduction
On December 27, 2015, the IMSLP moved
to a subscription-based model, where
users are expected to pay to avoid a
waiting period on some of the files
available on the site, and to access certain
newly uploaded files.[38] Users who have
not paid are subject to a 15-second
waiting period on certain files (excluding
Creative Commons-licensed files that
constitute a majority of the site's files),[39]
are required to wait up to two days to
access newly uploaded files, and are
shown advertising.[40]
The project leader Edward Guo[41] claimed
the changes were made because the level
of funding was "not sustainable in the long
run", but also noted:

"The income we receive from various

sources have been enough to maintain
the site so far, but I increasingly believe
that this level of funding is not
sustainable in the long run. We are not,
like traditional music libraries, bound by
the service of a conservatory, university
or publisher, but rather can do things
that traditional institutions are not
willing to do, because we serve only
musicians and music lovers. But
everything is a tradeoff – we also do not
have the funding infrastructure these
traditional institutions have, and over the
past few years I’ve frankly exhausted my
imagination in searching for new
realistic sources of funding for IMSLP.
"And so I will announce here that a
subscription system for IMSLP will be
put in place. But this will not be a
traditional subscription model – in
particular, no file will be blocked from
access by the public. Rather, a
subscription will permit a member to
 download files without having to wait a
certain number of seconds, eliminiate
[sic] some of the advertising on the site,
and a few other benefits. I see this as a
way to both preserve IMSLP’s
philosophy of open access and to
secure IMSLP’s future."[42][38]

Guo attributed the change in funding to

discussions with librarians at an IAML
conference in June 2015. Some
contributors to the website expressed
concerns that Guo had not properly
attempted to raise donations, but without
any prior warning, introduced the
membership system to monetize their
work.[43]

Naxos Music Library

On April 18, 2016, the IMSLP

announced[44] on its Twitter account that
all subscribers will have access to the
Naxos Music Library.

EU server

On July 10, 2010, a forum thread[45]

announced the opening of a new server
located in the Netherlands. This server
allows works that are public domain in
Canada and the EU to be downloaded
legally, even if they are under copyright in
the US. The server was initially run by an
unaffiliated European organization, while a
forum thread [46] later announced that
operations had been handed over to
Project Leonardo , a new unaffiliated
company incorporated in New Zealand to
"provide web hosting services to online
libraries that distribute free contents in any
fields of arts and science". Files on the EU
server are flagged (EU).
US server

A similar, also unaffiliated, US server

allows users to download works that are in
the public domain only in the US. Unlike
the other servers, this one can only be
contributed to by administrators and users
who have asked for the privilege, though
the files are freely accessible for
download.

CA server

On July 1, 2013, a forum thread[47]

announced the opening of a new server
located in Canada and operated by Project
Leonardo , the unaffiliated company that
also runs the EU server. This server is
especially intended for users located in
countries where copyright lasts 50 years
from the death of the author, such as
Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South
Africa, and many others. Files on the CA
server are flagged (CA).

WIMA merge

On August 23, 2011, an announcement[48]

was made that the Werner Icking Music
Archive would merge with the IMSLP.
WIMA had announced the merge on its
own site five days before in an open letter
to contributors.[49] After working out some
technical issues, the IMSLP decided to
officially commence the merge on August
28. The merge was announced to be
complete on July 21, 2012.[50]

Current legal structure

IMSLP is now owned by Project Petrucci

LLC, a private company created to run the
website. Project Petrucci LLC was
registered as a Delaware limited-liability
company on June 28, 2008,[51] when the
site founder was studying at the New
England Conservatory.[52][53] The website
provides an e-mail address for the site's
founder ("preferred"), and a physical
address for the company's registered
agent in the United States (for "any legal or
formal correspondence").[54]

Project Leonardo is an internet service

provider that hosts free online content in
the arts or sciences.[55]

Similar projects
 Choral Public Domain Library (focused
on choral and vocal music)
Musopen (focused on recordings)
Mutopia Project (focused on typeset
scores)
Werner Icking Music Archive (contains
mainly early music; merged with the
IMSLP)

See also
List of online music databases

References
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5. MIT (2007). "21M.250 Schubert to
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 8. "Outside links of interest" . Stanford
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11. "The Online Books Page: Archives and
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29. "Associated Chamber Music Players
(ACMP) Honored Edward Guo,
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American Arts Alliance. Retrieved
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AG" (PDF). Aird & Berlis LLP. Archived
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35. Text of the MPA's letter to Go Daddy
36. "IMSLP Under Attack" by Carolus,
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37. Tweet by Will Lines, Music Publishers
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38. "IMSLP music library introduces paid
membership – The Strad" . The Strad.
2016-01-04. Archived from the
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39. "Upcoming changes - Page 2" . IMSLP
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40. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
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41. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
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 April 18, 2015.
42. "Upcoming changes" . IMSLP Forums.
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43. "Upcoming changes" . IMSLP Forums.
Retrieved 2016-07-10.
44. "IMSLP membership now includes full
access to Naxos Music Library with
1.8MM+ tracks for instant
streaming!" . Twitter. 2016-04-18.
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47. "Anniversary and Canadian server
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2013-07-07.
48. "IMSLP to merge with WIMA" .
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49. "WIMA merges with IMSLP, the
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50. "IMSLP to merge with WIMA" .
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51. "Division of Corporations - Filing" .
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52. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved
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53. Knopf, Howard (2011-02-22). "EXCESS
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- Library of Public Domain Music
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55. "Project Leonardo Portal" . Leonardo
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to IMSLP.

Wikidata has the property:

IMSLP ID (P839) (see uses)

Official website
Project Leonardo Portal

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=International_Music_Score_Library_Project&ol
did=923180553"
 Last edited 25 days ago by Josvebot

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