Ultimate Guitar

Last updated
Ultimate Guitar
Ultimate Guitar logo.svg
Type of site
Tablature archive
OwnerUltimate Guitar USA LLC
Created byEugeny Naidenov
Parent Muse Group
URL ultimate-guitar.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional

Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov [1] and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile application provide free and paid user-submitted guitar tablatures and chord sheets, as well as video courses, reviews of music and equipment, interviews with musicians and forums. It is now part of Muse Group. [2]

Contents

Features

Users of Ultimate Guitar are able to view, request, vote and comment on tablatures in the site's forum. Guitar Pro and Power Tab files can be run through programs in order to play the tablature. Members can also submit album, multimedia and gear reviews, as well as guitar lessons and news articles. Approved works are published on the website. The forum is moderated, but there has been no censorship of curse and swear words since September 1, 2015.

On August 12, 2007,the Ultimate Guitar site launched "UG Profiles", a feature which allowed users to promote their bands' information, photos and gear, among other things.[ citation needed ] This was intended for networking in a similar way to other sites such as MySpace. Users were also able to upload their own MP3 recordings to their profiles. However, some time in 2014 the feature was disabled due to lack of use, as well as legal liability in the case of copyright violations.

Relationships with music publishers and songwriters

In late 2004 to early 2005, after Taborama and 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 argued that it was not subject to the MPA legal actions because its headquarters were in Russia and the site’s practices complied with Russian laws. [3] Since then, UG has signed 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. [4]

On April 10, 2010, Ultimate Guitar entered an additional licensing agreement with Harry Fox Agency. [5] 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 into the licensing arrangement with UG.

Related Research Articles

Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Petrucci</span> American guitarist

John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) to A View from the Top of the World (2021), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).

The On-line Guitar Archive (OLGA) was the first Internet library of guitar and bass tablature, or "tabs". Born from a collection of guitarist internet-forum archives, it was a useful resource for musicians of all genres for over a decade.

<i>Guitar World</i> Monthly music magazine

Guitar World is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. Guitar World, the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original artist interviews and profiles, plus lessons/columns, gear reviews, news and exclusive tablature of three songs per issue. The magazine is published 13 times per year by Future plc. Damian Fanelli has been Guitar World's Editor-in-Chief since June 2018.

MXTabs.net was an American 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 Music Publishers Association (MPA) about the supposed illegality of music tabs, it has since been bought by MusicNotes and now offers free, legal tablature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar Pro</span> Scorewriter and MIDI editor

Guitar Pro is a proprietary multitrack editor of guitar and bass tablature and musical scores, possessing a built-in MIDI-editor, a plotter of chords, a player, a metronome and other tools for musicians. It has versions for Windows and macOS and is written by the French company Arobas Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Publishers Association</span>

The Music Publishers Association of the United States (MPA) is a non-profit music publishing organization based in New York City. Founded in 1895, the MPA is the oldest music trade organization in the United States which addresses issues pertaining to print publishing with an emphasis on copyright education and advocacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Music Publishers' Association</span>

The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) is a trade association for the American music publishing industry. Founded in 1917, NMPA represents American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights.

Metalocalypse is an American musical adult animated television series created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Adult Swim. It premiered on August 6, 2006. The television program centers on the larger-than-life melodic death metal band Dethklok, and often portrays dark and macabre content, including such subjects as violence, death, and the drawbacks of fame, with hyperbolic black comedy. The show was widely heralded as both a parody and a pastiche of heavy metal culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Late</span> 1978 single by Queen

"It's Late" is a song by English rock band Queen, written by guitarist Brian May and released on their 1977 studio album, News of the World.

JerryC, also known by his English name Jerry Chang, is a Taiwanese guitarist and composer. He is known for arranging and playing "Canon Rock", a rock arrangement of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D. He began playing the guitar at the age of 17, and the piano before age 15. His style is influenced by classical music, neoclassical guitarists, as well as metal bands such as Helloween and Metallica and Japanese rock bands such as B'z and L'Arc-en-Ciel.

SpiralFrog was a very early music streaming service based in New York City that launched in the United States and Canada on September 17, 2007. SpiralFrog offered free and legal music downloads, all supported by advertising, and was the largest site of its kind in North America. On March 19, 2009, SpiralFrog terminated operations due to loan recalls. While SpiralFrog was not successful in the end, it nonetheless helped shaped the digital music industry shift from the purchase to streaming models, and its ultimate revenue recovery

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Power Tab Editor</span> Scorewriter

Power Tab Editor is a freeware tablature authoring tool created by Brad Larsen for Windows. It is used to create guitar, bass and ukulele tablature scores, among many others. The current version uses the *.ptb file format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MusEdit</span> Scorewriter

MusEdit is a scorewriter program for Microsoft Windows, developed by Doug Rogers / Yowza software and first launched in 1997. The current version (4.0.3) was released in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MuseScore</span> Music notation software

MuseScore refers to a free and open-source music notation program for Windows, macOS, and Linux and its accompanying online score-sharing platform MuseScore.com and freemium mobile score viewer and playback app. It is now part of Muse Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tablature</span> Form of musical notation

Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches.

<i>Behind the Player: Munky</i> 2008 video by Munky

Behind The Player: Munky is an Interactive Music Video featuring Korn guitarist Munky. Released on November 1, 2008 by IMV, the DVD features Munky giving in-depth guitar lessons for how to play "Blind" and "Falling Away from Me" by Korn and an intimate behind-the scenes look at his life as a professional musician, including rare photos and video. The DVD also includes Munky jamming the two tracks with Korn drummer Ray Luzier, VideoTab that shows exactly how Munky plays his parts in the two songs, as well as other bonus material.

<i>Behind the Player: Tim Skold</i> 2008 video by Tim Skold

Behind The Player: Tim Skold is an interactive music video featuring Marilyn Manson guitarist/bassist/producer Tim Skold . Released on November 1, 2008, by IMV, the DVD features Tim giving in-depth guitar and bass lessons for how to play "Putting Holes in Happiness" by Marilyn Manson and an intimate behind-the scenes look at his life as a professional musician, including rare photos and video. The DVD also includes Tim jamming the tracks with Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins, VideoTab that shows exactly how Tim plays his parts in the two songs, as well as other bonus material.

Michael Raven was an English author, musician, composer and poet.

The Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel, known by the acronym ACUM, is a non-profit copyright collective which engages in collective rights management for authors, poets, lyricists, composers, arrangers, and music publishers in Israel. As a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), ACUM is affiliated with more than 100 similar rights organizations around the world, with which it engages in reciprocal royalty collection agreements. It also holds an annual prize ceremony which honors authors and musicians in many categories, including lifetime achievement.

References

  1. "Behind the scenes at the biggest website for bedroom guitarists". www.theguardian.com. 8 July 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  2. Bacon, Tony (2001). Electric guitar. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.08690.
  3. "Now the Music Industry Wants Guitarists to Stop Sharing". The New York Times. 21 August 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. "Why songs are licensed?". Ultimate-Guitar.com. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  5. ""The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. and Ultimate Guitar Enter Licensing Arrangement for Lyrics and Tablature", HarryFox.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 2017-11-18.