Copyright Guidelines for Musicians

What You Can Store Freely

SetBook is built for working musicians to organize their performances. The following types of content are yours to store without concern:

• Original compositions — songs you wrote, including full lyrics, chords, and arrangements
• Personal chord charts — your own shorthand for playing a song (chord symbols, section markers, cue notes)
• Setlists — ordered lists of song titles for your gigs
• Performance notes — tempo markings, key changes, dynamic cues, band-specific instructions
• Song metadata — title, artist, key, tags, and links to official recordings

What Needs Care

Some content is protected by copyright and requires authorization from the rights holder before you can store or share it:

• Lyrics — even partial lyrics from published songs are copyrighted
• Published lead sheets & sheet music — transcriptions from official sources (Hal Leonard, musicnotes.com, etc.)
• Arrangements by others — horn charts, vocal harmonies, or arrangements written by someone else
• Tablature from copyrighted sources — tabs reproduced from paid publications

Keeping copyrighted content private (visible only to you) reduces risk, but does not eliminate copyright concerns entirely. Making it public increases your exposure significantly.

Best Practices

• Keep copyrighted material private. If your chart includes lyrics or copyrighted arrangements, set its visibility to Private or Friends.
• Link instead of copy. Use the Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube link fields to reference official recordings instead of transcribing lyrics.
• Use your own shorthand. Write abbreviated cues (“V1 → Ch → V2 → Br → Ch x2”) rather than copying full lyrics or melodies.
• Credit the source. Use the Author field to attribute arrangements or charts from other musicians.
• When in doubt, keep it private. You can always share a chart with your band directly without making it fully public.

Fair Use Basics

U.S. copyright law includes a “fair use” doctrine that may permit limited use of copyrighted material without permission — for purposes such as commentary, education, or personal reference. Fair use depends on four factors:

1. The purpose and character of the use (commercial vs. personal/educational)
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount used relative to the whole
4. The effect on the market for the original

A personal chord chart for a gig is more likely to qualify as fair use than posting full lyrics publicly. However, fair use is determined case-by-case — SetBook cannot make this determination for you.

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a lawyer if you have specific questions about copyright and your use case.

DMCA Information

SetBook complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If a rights holder believes content on SetBook infringes their copyright, they may file a takedown notice. Users who receive a takedown may file a counter-notification.

For full details, see Section 5 of our Terms of Service.

To file a DMCA notice: [email protected]

Resources

For more information on music copyright and licensing:

• ASCAP — American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
• BMI — Broadcast Music, Inc.
• SESAC — Society of European Stage Authors and Composers
• Creative Commons — Free licensing for creative works
• U.S. Copyright Office — Official registration and information