Personal & Random 10 Jul 2005 06:53 pm
The BBC makes Beethoven's symphonies available
But they've since been taken down, so I have them here for you. 
Feel free to spread the mirror love to all corners of the Internet. 
Update 4: For you slashdot types, I've written up an analysis of the slashdot effect. You can read it here. 
Update 3: I have removed the symphonies because I am infringing upon the BBC's copyright, which I did not know I was doing until this morning. I thought that their music had been released into the public domain; I was unaware that it was not, since I didn't get these files from the BBC to begin with.
I have strong feelings about copyright infringement. I never intended to step on the BBC's toes. (I thought I was doing them a favor, as a matter of fact.)
Enjoy!
Update 2: I now have Symphony #9. Thanks, Elle and to the many others who offered to send it!
Update: due to some complaints, I switched to Durf's version of the symphonies. I am missing symphony #9.
on 11 Jul 2005 at 3:16 am 1.Anonymous said …
\m/ >_
on 11 Jul 2005 at 9:34 pm 2.Anonymous said …
Thanks much for linking up the BBC downloads. I'm a long time lurker and former poster on Ars. Hope you are doing well.
Craig
on 12 Jul 2005 at 12:17 am 3.Anonymous said …
#7 movement 2 is better
~wynk
on 12 Jul 2005 at 6:00 am 4.Anonymous said …
Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for the repost.
-TMM (from Ars)
on 12 Jul 2005 at 9:53 am 5.Anonymous said …
Thanks much for the downloads; finally I can add Number 3 to my now complete collection.
folville
on 12 Jul 2005 at 6:16 pm 6.Anonymous said …
Thanks Hanser
Searchy
on 12 Jul 2005 at 11:31 pm 7.Anonymous said …
Finally got hold of numbers 1 and 4. Thanks
on 13 Jul 2005 at 12:08 am 8.Anonymous said …
Thank you. However, I'm confused. How are you able to do this without getting a litany of legal threats for redistributing the files?
on 13 Jul 2005 at 12:18 am 9.Anonymous said …
Great post, thank you very much.
As long as music and boobies are free, life is good.
http://www.fotodaze.com/view.php?view=1420
on 13 Jul 2005 at 12:34 am 10.Anonymous said …
Thanks, really.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 12:44 am 11.Anonymous said …
Anonymous @ comment # 8: no one has basis for legal threats against him. The music was performed for free and released for public domain. The BBC is no longer distributing them because it was a limited-time experiment (and apparently people were using tons of their bandwidth downloading the files
-caff0d
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:13 am 12.Anonymous said …
I know this has been said numerous times but…. Thank you!!!
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:16 am 13.Anonymous said …
Maybe we should get a Torrent together …
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:21 am 14.Anonymous said …
Without commenting on the legalities of this, the first five (at least; haven't tried the others, since I snarfed them from the BBC site) are truncated. You have the first 20 minutes or so in each case, but no more.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:22 am 15.Anonymous said …
A Torrent is a Great Idea
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:31 am 16.Anonymous said …
When downloading the files from the BBC, you agreed with their terms of use, which specifically stated that you may not redistribute the files… So basically, this is illegal.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:39 am 17.Anonymous said …
From their site:
Download disclaimer:
The BBC granted you a 7-day, non-exclusive licence to download this Beethoven Experience audio.
You may not copy, reproduce, edit, adapt, alter, republish, post, broadcast, transmit, make available to the public, or otherwise use this audio in any way except for your own personal, non-commercial use.
You may not use this file for the purpose of promoting, advertising, endorsing or implying a connection with you (or any third party) and the BBC, its agents or employees.
The BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result of or connected with the download or use of this file.
For further details see the BBC’s terms of use.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 1:57 am 18.Jason.Roysdon.net said …
Beethoven
on 13 Jul 2005 at 2:57 am 19.Anonymous said …
Don't listen to the diss'eres. You provide a great service to those that was not informed of the time limited download.
Thanks.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 3:03 am 20.Anonymous said …
Torrent of all 9 symphonies.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 3:29 am 21.Anonymous said …
Could someone set up a mirror?
on 13 Jul 2005 at 4:43 am 22.Anonymous said …
If you work within the terms of the BBC's experiments (by _not_ distributing these files - as you agreed to when downloading them) then you make it more likely that they will run more experiments like this.
I you break the terms of that agreement (as you're doing here) then you make it more likely that they'll stop making stuff like this available.
The BBC really want this stuff to work, but doing things like this makes it less likely that it will.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 4:54 am 23.Anonymous said …
thanks for sharing these. didnt hear about this until it was too late
As for the person who keeps blabbering on about the disclaimer:
"get over it!"
on 13 Jul 2005 at 5:12 am 24.Sexy Jihad » Blog Archive » Record Companies Pissed Off At BBC said …
[...] music shouldn't be free at all. Makes sense to me….. BTW The said mp3s can be downloaded from here
This entry was poste [...]
on 13 Jul 2005 at 5:26 am 25.Anonymous said …
Dear "anonymous", who complains about the redistribution of these files.
piss off,
thank you and yours truly,
-TMM.
no piece of music that is more than a hundred years old has any copyright IMNSFHO. let alone multiple hundreds of years.
the MP3s are only 128Kbps though ;_;
on 13 Jul 2005 at 5:45 am 26.Anonymous said …
Point is - the BBC is getting stick from the music industry for doing this stuff because people are republishing and redistributing the files. And they're not even doing it surruptitiously on P2P, they're doing it really overtly and in public. That gives the music industry ammunition and might force the BBC to act upon it either by not doing this kind of stuff any more OR by suing the redistributors. No one wants that stuff, surely?
on 13 Jul 2005 at 5:47 am 27.Anonymous said …
Gawd, may Walt Disney rot in Hell for this whole copyright mess he got us into. Just because of his damn mouse we can't enjoy music this old without somebody crying "UNFAIR!"
MacDaddy
on 13 Jul 2005 at 6:03 am 28.Anonymous said …
@MacDaddy: the work itself is free to perform, without any concerns about copyright whatsoever. The actual performance, however, is subject to rights…
on 13 Jul 2005 at 6:30 am 29.Anonymous said …
Slashdot arriveth. How about putting up a torrent? Just a thought…
Ps. I would help you seed if you did!
on 13 Jul 2005 at 7:15 am 30.Anonymous said …
http://mirror.intternet.org/the-bbc-makes-beethovens-symphonies-available/
Mirror in Finland Europe
on 13 Jul 2005 at 7:35 am 31.Anonymous said …
Copyrights should be given to human beings only (NO corporate ownership) and limited to 5 years past the end of life.
That would get rid of an awful lot of lawsuits and cartoon characters that morph into new versions while locking out anyone else.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 7:38 am 32.Rian said …
I have taken them down as I didn't know I was infringing upon the BBC. I didn't download them from the BBC, as such I never read the terms of use or anything like that.
To the idiots who assumed that I downloaded them from the BBC (anonymous moron #22 and others), are you illiterate? I said in the opening post that I got them from other people, not from the BBC.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 7:52 am 33.Anonymous said …
Point is - the music industry is going to bitch and whinge about anything that might question their current structure and power over what we can hear and enjoy. if we let them do whatever they wanted we'd probably pay a "listening fee" everytime we played a song we had already BOUGHT… or worse…
on 13 Jul 2005 at 8:05 am 34.Anonymous said …
Are all of the links gone already?!?
on 13 Jul 2005 at 8:06 am 35.Rian said …
Yes, I removed all the links. Are you illiterate?
on 13 Jul 2005 at 9:50 am 36.Anonymous said …
I think that you should only stop redistributing the files if the BBC complains. Otherwise it is being a bit petty.
Afterall, if you take the license seriously you'd never be able to do anything with the music. Seeing as you can't copy it you won't be able to move the bits from your hard disk to your memory, so you won't be able to play it at all.
Having said that I download all my music and films off bit torrent anyway. I don't think its immoral but then again I couldn't care less.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 10:53 am 37.Anonymous said …
Anybody know of any place else we can get the downloads? I didn't here about this until today!
on 13 Jul 2005 at 11:13 am 38.Anonymous said …
the finn link just took itself off :-
on 13 Jul 2005 at 4:18 pm 39.Anonymous said …
What the fuck is this gibberish post?
Here's the symphonies.
Oops, no symphonies.
Hey, they're back.
No they're not.
Jesus man, you make no sense at all. Did a giant alphabet crapping monster take a dump on your keyboard?
I hope you don't do me any favours, the way you've butchered this little operation.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 4:44 pm 40.Rian said …
What the fuck are you talking about? I took the symphonies down because I will not infringe upon the BBC's copyright.
I have not "butchered" this little operation. I suggest you invest in some reading comprehension classes, because your abilities are clearly lacking.
on 13 Jul 2005 at 6:51 pm 41.Anonymous said …
it's not really evident that there was an update… maybe a nice "UPDATE:" text in front of where you took them down after putting them up would have made things a little more obvious
on 13 Jul 2005 at 9:24 pm 42.soapbox » Blog Archive » some culture said …
[...] ure Posted by Michael. For those who missed BBC's original offering of free Beethoven, here's another chance now that the beeb got in tro [...]
on 16 Jul 2005 at 12:21 pm 43.kepo-ing Zz85 » said …
[...] supporting them officially. Then of course there are many who completely disagree with the labels. http://rianjs.net/2005/07/the-bbc-makes-beethovens-symphonies-available/ http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=261002 How Dare The BBC Introduce New List [...]
on 16 Jul 2005 at 10:20 pm 44.Anonymous said …
Christ… Beethoven is dead, let the music roam free.
I really don't think he would mind. Since his dead you know.
Personally I wish I too had something that I had done that millions of people would download for free after I had passed away… For that would make me live forever.
/ MackanZoor
on 12 Dec 2005 at 3:10 am 45.jrdn » Copyright, Licenses, etc. said …
[...] But, as always, be careful to throw stones when you yourself are living in a glass house. Rian has taken down the MP3s (see his comment below). He, like me, was not initially aware of the license that the BBC distributed them under. Once he found out, he removed them. [...]
on 14 Feb 2007 at 5:13 pm 46.Basem Sourour said …
i like beethoven symphonies
on 30 Jan 2008 at 10:24 am 47.A composer said …
"Christ… Beethoven is dead, let the music roam free.
I really don’t think he would mind. Since his dead you know."
Maybee, but it´s not that simple. His music is free, but NOT his recordings, no one has the right to charge anyone for using his music, but all people who are playing in a recording has the right to get money when that recording is used, and allso recordcompanys and the "musikförlag". Dont know the english word for that. When a record is made, its not only the composer who has o eat.