Mxtabs
Encyclopedia
MXTabs.net is a music tablature
website
created in 1999, offering free guitar
, bass
, and drum
tablature
created by users of the site, in addition to music reviews and instrument lessons. Although the site shut down in June 2006 in response to claims made by the MPA
about the supposed illegality of music tabs, it has since been bought by MusicNotes and now offers free, legal tablature. The site was in public-alpha stage for some time as not all features had been added and tabs were available only to countries where a licence was in place. The site came out of public alpha stage and was launched on the 1st July 2008.
s. As the site grew in size and popularity, it added subsites for guitar
and bass guitar
. Users would submit tablature for a song, and that tab would be incorporated into the website. Mxtabs continued to grow, increasing its database to over 150,000 tabs by December 2005, when the Music Publishers' Association
threatened websites that provided lyrics or tabs with jail time in addition to fines and shutting the websites down.
However, the MPA took no legal action at that time, only warning that they would begin doing so in 2006. Mxtabs responded on December 26, 2005 by taking their entire website offline. Later, the website was changed to simply forward viewers to its affiliate forum, MusicianForums.
On February 24, 2006, the owners of Mxtabs put the website back online with a letter explaining their position. In short, they believe that the purpose of Mxtabs is to "aid musicians in learning their instruments." They say that Mxtabs has accounted for as much as $3000 a month in sheet music
sales, and offers many tabs that do not have equivalent sheet music published, so Mxtabs and similar sites are the only place that musicians can find a way to play these songs. The letter concludes by pointing out that tabs have never been proven to be illegal, then requesting that sheet music companies contact Mxtabs in order to create a system of tab licensing.
On June 25, 2006, the administrators of Mxtabs took the tablature offline once more. The website remained up with only one page: their final departing words, a 4 paragraph statement. There was no access to any of the tabs from the site. In their statement they claimed that "...to this date, we have not received any threatening letters, but are closing on our own volition. Mxtabs was reopened in February with the hope of receiving some sort of response; with the lack of that response, it is sadly time to close.". Since this, the original MXTabs network shifted focus to revolve around Ferwerda's review site, Sputnikmusic
.
On August 7, the website was re-opened, however, the tabs are innaccessable.
On March 27, 2007, MXTabs announced an agreement with the Harry Fox Agency
, allowing for legal tabs in exchange for sharing ad revenue from the website. Tabs will be provided free to the public. Members of MXTabs will submit and improve tabs.
Mxtabs was believed to be reopening in the summer of 2007, however they did not reach private alpha stage until late-2007. According to the blog on the MXTabs website, the main problems were getting the last few companies to sign contracts with them. Also, they had to update the data on each of the 10,000 plus tabs to reflect the new way MXTabs will be working and add all of the new features they wanted.
As of October 10, 2007, the blog lists definitions for rebirth, seemingly implying that MXTabs is almost ready to be reopened. This coincides with MXTabs sending out emails notifying people of alpha testing positions. These emails have been set to those who registered their email addresses for updates.
As of February 26, the site has now been opened for use showing off the new layout of the website, but the tab pages come out with text reading
"License Restricted
We're sorry. The song whose tab you are trying to view is not licensed in your country (CANADA)"
The site does appear to work in the United States but some songs are not licensed yet and if you come across a song with no license the website ask you to fill out information about the song and the band to help them gain licenses quicker.
On May 9, tabs were made accessible to countries outside the United States
, including Canada
, United Kingdom
and Australia
among others. However, the availability depends on the licensing agreements.
After several big announcements due May (Tab Summissions and many new publisher agreements, they announced the site will come out of public alpha stage and be launched on the 1st July 2008.
MXTabs officially launched on July 1 2008, partnering with Taylor Guitars for a launch promotion contest.
Tablature
Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
created in 1999, offering free guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
tablature
Tablature
Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....
created by users of the site, in addition to music reviews and instrument lessons. Although the site shut down in June 2006 in response to claims made by the MPA
Music Publishers' Association
The Music Publishers Association of the United States is a music publishing organization based in New York City. Founded in 1895, the MPA is the oldest music trade organization in the United States...
about the supposed illegality of music tabs, it has since been bought by MusicNotes and now offers free, legal tablature. The site was in public-alpha stage for some time as not all features had been added and tabs were available only to countries where a licence was in place. The site came out of public alpha stage and was launched on the 1st July 2008.
History
Mxtabs started out as a hobby drum website in 1999 by a young musician attempting to learn drumDrum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s. As the site grew in size and popularity, it added subsites for guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. Users would submit tablature for a song, and that tab would be incorporated into the website. Mxtabs continued to grow, increasing its database to over 150,000 tabs by December 2005, when the Music Publishers' Association
Music Publishers' Association
The Music Publishers Association of the United States is a music publishing organization based in New York City. Founded in 1895, the MPA is the oldest music trade organization in the United States...
threatened websites that provided lyrics or tabs with jail time in addition to fines and shutting the websites down.
However, the MPA took no legal action at that time, only warning that they would begin doing so in 2006. Mxtabs responded on December 26, 2005 by taking their entire website offline. Later, the website was changed to simply forward viewers to its affiliate forum, MusicianForums.
On February 24, 2006, the owners of Mxtabs put the website back online with a letter explaining their position. In short, they believe that the purpose of Mxtabs is to "aid musicians in learning their instruments." They say that Mxtabs has accounted for as much as $3000 a month in sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
sales, and offers many tabs that do not have equivalent sheet music published, so Mxtabs and similar sites are the only place that musicians can find a way to play these songs. The letter concludes by pointing out that tabs have never been proven to be illegal, then requesting that sheet music companies contact Mxtabs in order to create a system of tab licensing.
On June 25, 2006, the administrators of Mxtabs took the tablature offline once more. The website remained up with only one page: their final departing words, a 4 paragraph statement. There was no access to any of the tabs from the site. In their statement they claimed that "...to this date, we have not received any threatening letters, but are closing on our own volition. Mxtabs was reopened in February with the hope of receiving some sort of response; with the lack of that response, it is sadly time to close.". Since this, the original MXTabs network shifted focus to revolve around Ferwerda's review site, Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
.
On August 7, the website was re-opened, however, the tabs are innaccessable.
On March 27, 2007, MXTabs announced an agreement with the Harry Fox Agency
Harry Fox Agency
The Harry Fox Agency is the United States of America's largest agency collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers.-External links:*...
, allowing for legal tabs in exchange for sharing ad revenue from the website. Tabs will be provided free to the public. Members of MXTabs will submit and improve tabs.
Mxtabs was believed to be reopening in the summer of 2007, however they did not reach private alpha stage until late-2007. According to the blog on the MXTabs website, the main problems were getting the last few companies to sign contracts with them. Also, they had to update the data on each of the 10,000 plus tabs to reflect the new way MXTabs will be working and add all of the new features they wanted.
As of October 10, 2007, the blog lists definitions for rebirth, seemingly implying that MXTabs is almost ready to be reopened. This coincides with MXTabs sending out emails notifying people of alpha testing positions. These emails have been set to those who registered their email addresses for updates.
As of February 26, the site has now been opened for use showing off the new layout of the website, but the tab pages come out with text reading
"License Restricted
We're sorry. The song whose tab you are trying to view is not licensed in your country (CANADA)"
The site does appear to work in the United States but some songs are not licensed yet and if you come across a song with no license the website ask you to fill out information about the song and the band to help them gain licenses quicker.
On May 9, tabs were made accessible to countries outside the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
among others. However, the availability depends on the licensing agreements.
After several big announcements due May (Tab Summissions and many new publisher agreements, they announced the site will come out of public alpha stage and be launched on the 1st July 2008.
MXTabs officially launched on July 1 2008, partnering with Taylor Guitars for a launch promotion contest.