# What happened to all the Ultimate Guitar tabs?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204 "2016-01-05T05:53:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/21 "2016-01-05T19:19:58Z")
Publishing guitar tabs is a copyright violation, but not in the same sense that pirating a CD is. Copyright encompasses several rights, including the master use right (rights to the recording itself) and the print rights, which are what’s at stake with guitar tabs. Many sites, including the late, great OLGA (On Line Guitar Archive) tried to claim Fair Use as a work of scholarship/education, but were rebuffed by the courts. It is legal to use works under those conditions, but not so much to run a for-profit business predicated upon that. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/22 "2016-01-05T19:52:16Z")
I’ve used [Ultimate Guitar Tabs](https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/) for many years, and they are very much a profit site. There is some sort of license funny business going on, because they have a very deep archive of often exact transcriptions (along with piles of half-assed approximations), yet don’t seem to get into copyright trouble. This is also where most of the old OLGA content seems to have been rolled in to. Other sites I’ve tried to use for awhile, such as [https://www.jellynote.com/en/](https://www.jellynote.com/en/), are frustratingly constantly getting stripped of content from takedown notices. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/23 "2016-01-05T20:35:06Z")
All this arguing, can’t we just reach for a chord? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/24 "2016-01-05T20:37:17Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > There is some sort of license funny business going on There is. Although not so much funny business, as simply business. [From Wikipedia:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Guitar_Archive#Relationships_with_Music_Publishers_and_Songwriters) > [@](#): > > In late 2004-2005, after taborama and [mxtabs.net](http://mxtabs.net) began closing due to legal threats from the Music Publishers Association of America, UG saw a surge of new users flock to the community. UG was not affected by the MPA legal actions, since UG has license agreements with thousands of publishers, including Sony, EMI, Peermusic, Alfred, Hal Leonard, Faber and Music Sales, through which the songwriters receive compensation for the display of the tabs. > > On April 10, 2010, Ultimate Guitar entered a licensing agreement with Harry Fox Agency. The agreement included rights for lyrics display, title search and tablature display with download and print capabilities. HFA’s over 44,000 represented publishers have the opportunity to opt-in to the licensing arrangement with UG. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/25 "2016-01-05T20:50:11Z")
Just a note: can we give the puns a rest? I can’t stanza them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/26 "2016-01-05T20:56:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Just a note: can we give the puns a rest? I can’t stanza them. What, barring mod intervention? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/27 "2016-01-05T21:33:05Z")
Okay, that’s it: I am keeping tabs on you guys!! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/28 "2016-01-05T21:35:18Z")
Give it a rest! ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/29 "2016-01-05T21:38:58Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > There is. Although not so much funny business, as simply business. > [From Wikipedia:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Guitar_Archive#Relationships_with_Music_Publishers_and_Songwriters) Ah, thanks, that explains it! That seems a pretty sweet exclusivity deal, no wonder that other interesting competitors and services keep getting squashed, and why UG’s database and media capabilities seem stuck in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/30 "2016-01-07T14:48:53Z")
Stay sharp, everyone… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/31 "2016-01-07T17:20:19Z")
…or you’ll B flat. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/32 "2016-01-07T17:21:50Z")
Oops, sorry, I accidental-ly posted. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/33 "2016-01-07T22:37:17Z")
Oh **Burpo** it’s always the minor details that trip you up. Maybe you need a staff… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/34 "2016-01-07T23:06:39Z")
𝄞, ya think? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/35 "2016-01-07T23:27:08Z")
I hope the stress of no longer having tabs that are 80% correct doesn’t send the OP into a fugue state. ---
**Author:** ![I-VI-ii-V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/36 "2016-01-08T05:38:55Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > You people are nothing but treble. That’s a completely bass-less accusation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204.md?page=1)