The prices of the sorabji archive are so expensive because of the costs of making the copies are perserving the scores. If someone would just publish them it would be fixed. But because of copyrights the music industry is dirty and it doesn't work that way because no money would be made.
When I buy a CD of music I am paying mostly for the marketing campaign of the new 'star' of classical music.
Two issues here. What exactly do you mean by "publish"? Isn't that precisely what we ourselves are doing? Why would you assume that, if one of the major established music publishers published the work instead of us, it could then be obtained for "free"? Such publishers sell their publications just as we do - for money. So - what exactly would this "fix" (as you put it)?
There are various views about copyright, including but not limited to the following:
1. copyright laws and the principles governing their existence are OK as they stand
2. principles governing the existence of copyright laws are OK but copyright periods are overlong
3. copyright should die with the originator (this is your own view, I think)
4. copyright should be abolished altogether, even during the originator's lifetime.
4. is an extreme stance, of course, but we have nevertheless encountered it on occasion. Implementing it would mean that no composer would ever derive income from royalties from or sales of his/her work and would accordingly have then to depend entirely upon commission fees or be otherwise self-supporting. The only conceivable response to such a view would be "welcome to the real world!" and the only imaginable result a serious dwindling of new music creation.
3. is all very well in certain cases but is singularly inappropriate in instances such as Sorabji, Alkan or others (many others, indeed) whose work received little recognition during the composer's lifetime; it often tends also to help to discourage the revival of work by deceased composers that has fallen on hard times in the years immediately following their deaths (by no means an uncommon phenomenon).
In all of this, whatever our individual views may be, it is important to understand that the internet - wonderful public resource that it is - neither flouts nor creates legislation, nor is it above the law; it is an access tool - and a very valuable one at that, especially when used appropriately. It is, however, no more than that ; the suggestion on this forum that there was no knowledge prior to its existence is plainly absurd.
The second point concerns "classical" CDs. We have no idea what CDs you buy, but if, when you make CD purchases, you are truly "paying mostly for the marketing campaign of the new 'star' of classical music", you obviously don't buy the kinds of CDs that we sell! We do not deny that such CDs exist, of course, but that factor most certainly does not apply across all such CDs in the market place.
Let's take an example. Altarus Records currently has an ongoing series of CDs of Sorabji's piano music. Altarus is based in America. The pianist in the series, Jonathan Powell, is based in London. The record company would either have to come to England (as has happened so far) or the pianist have to go to America to make the recordings. Either way, costs are involved (air-fares, car hire, equipment transportation, accommodation, etc.). The pianist has to be paid something for his trouble. Someone has to pay to hire a fine piano, piano technician, recording venue, etc. Someone has to pay for the consumables involved. Someone has to undertake the editing afterwards. Someone has to pay for the CD book to be produced. Someone has to pay to have the CDs manufactured. At that stage, the various record distributing companies have to be paid to distribute the end product and the retailers who buy it from those distributors have to make a profit from selling it. Then someone has to be paid to do the accounts. Finally, if any profit is left after all this, there's a willing taxman at the ready to collect his share of the proceedings. Altarus is not exactly a big-shot record company with multiple releases each month; it is also not exactly producing the kinds of recording that they or anyone else expects to sell in vast quantities, thereby recouping large profits.
Almost everyone who has heard him will testify to the fact that Jonathan Powell is indeed a real "star" of "classical" music; in a scenario such as the above, however, just how much money do you suppose might be left over for the "marketing campaign" of which you write? No - buy any CD whose creation fits into most of the above parameters and you may be assured that you are paying only a very small proportion, if indeed anything at all, for a "marketing campaign", almost all of what you pay being for the recording itself.
Of course, certain people then complain - in spite of all this - that some of these CDs are "too expensive". Others go farther and expect to be able to download them for "free" as a divine right. The same arguments apply here as they do to scores.
Finally, we note that you quote Liszt as having said "As an artist you don't rake in a million marks without performing some sacrifice on the Altar of Art"; you don't do it by selling Sorabji scores and CDs either - a fact that would doubtless not have been lost on Liszt had he been around nowadays...
Best,
Alistair
Topic: Opus Clavicembalisticum