Hi, all. I'm a Wikipedia editor who uses the login "FuriousFreddy". There were some questions raised over the legality of the inclusion of data from the American Billboard music charts, since the company that owns Billboard (VNU Media) claims copyright and ownership of the chart information. I sent them an email several weeks ago...and they finally got back to answering it.
What does this mean for the Wikipedia music articles which include Billboard charts?
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brandon Cordy brandon@brandoncordy.com Date: Nov 14, 2005 7:26 AM Subject: FW: Billboard chart data licensing To: b.touch@gmail.com
-----Original Message----- *From:* Sam Bell [mailto:SBell@vnuemedia.com] *Sent:* Sunday, November 13, 2005 1:00 PM *To:* Brandon Cordy *Cc:* brandon@brandoncordy.com; Ben French *Subject:* Re: Billboard chart data licensing
Brandon,
Thanks for reaching out to me - much appreciated. Use of Billboard intellectual property does require a license and we would be happy to discuss how to go about obtaining one. I am copying Ben French on this email - he will touch base on Monday to discuss further.
Cheers
Sam ................................................... sam bell director, business development vnu emedia, inc. 770 broadway new york, ny 10003 p. 646-654-5522 f. 646-654-5589 http://www.vnubusinessmedia.com
*"Brandon Cordy" brandon@brandoncordy.com*
10/24/2005 04:53 PM
To
sbell@billboard.com
cc
brandon@brandoncordy.com
Subject
Billboard chart data licensing
Dear Mr. Bell,
I am not sure if I have the correct department, but I am writing to enquire about the licensing of Billboard chart data for use at the English version of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia (en.wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org). Currently, Wikipedia uses a significant amount of data from Billboard records and charts, and I was concerned, after seeing the disclaimer at napster.com http://napster.com ("Billboard chart information may not be published, broadcast, displayed or redistributed without the prior written agreement of VNU eMedia, Inc.") that we may not be in compliance with your usage policies. Are we allowed, as a non-profit informational resource, to use Billboard chart data, and, if so, is there any limit to the amounts we may use (in recent months, several persons have begun adding data from every Billboard chart in relation to a particular song)?
If it is found that we should not include any or most Billboard chart data, it will be removed expeditiously and without question. I personally do not represent, neither am I associated with, the Wikimedia Foundation in any way; I am inquiring out of courtesy. If I have contacted the wrong department, if you could please foward my inquiry to the correct one, I would be very grateful. Thank you for your assistance.
Regards,
Brandon Cordy