Cloud Strife here with a very, very important message. For those of you who like to arrange already existing pieces of music, listen up. (Sorry for this being so long)
I recently got a notification on Flat that one of my pieces was taken down. The reason? It seems the owner requested via the DMCA that it be taken down.
For those who didn't know, the DMCA is a copyright protection service that prevents illegal use or infringement of copyright. The owner of something can request that it be taken off of the internet so that nobody can see it anymore.
Anyways, back to my story. So my arrangement of the piece "Those Who Fight" was requested by the owner of the original to be taken down through the DMCA, who forced Flat to take it down. Though I did credit the original composer and owners of the piece, it didn't matter, as it was still an infringement of copyright.
My guess was that because because I don't have a license for publishing and distributing the original piece, it wasn't allowed to be published. Was my arrangement too exact to the original? I do not know.
What I want to let everyone know is to be very careful of what you arrange, post, and publish. It would be safer to get a written license so you could have the rights to arranging and publishing, but until then, be very careful.