Copyright policy

Last updated: 8 August 2026

Most sheet music is somebody's copyright. Trouble Clef is built for musicians working with music they already have the right to use, and band spaces are designed so that sharing between bandmates does not become distribution to the world. This page explains how that works and how to tell us if something is wrong.

1. What band spaces are — and what they are not

Private and invite-only.A band space is visible only to its members. There is no public directory, no search across bands, and no way to browse or discover another band's files. Nothing shared in a band is published or indexed.
Storage, not a library. Shared files are stored and served as plain downloads. Trouble Clef does not display, render, index, or catalogue them.
Shared files do not open in Trouble Clef. There is deliberately no button that opens a band file in the score viewer or adds it to your library, and no way to transpose a file straight from a band space. To use a chart shared with you, you download it to your own device and then import it yourself, as your own upload, in the normal way. That extra step is intentional: it keeps the decision — and the responsibility — with the person who has the right to make it.
We do not supply any music.Trouble Clef never bundles, redistributes, or ships anyone else's sheet music or chord-chart libraries. Everything in the Service is brought in by users.

2. What you agree when you share a file

Every upload to a band space requires you to confirm, for that specific file, that you have the right to share it with that band — because it is your own work, because it is licensed or in the public domain, or because you have the rightsholder's permission. We record that confirmation, along with who made it and when.

Buying or owning a single copy of printed or digital sheet music does not normally give you the right to copy it for other people, including the other members of your band. If you are unsure, assume you need permission or a licence covering each player.

3. Reporting infringing material

Any member can report a file from within a band space using the Report button, which flags it for review.

If you are a rightsholder (or authorised to act for one) and believe material on the Service infringes your copyright, email copyright@trouble-clef.com with:

your name, address, telephone number and email address;
identification of the work you say has been infringed, and of the material you are asking us to remove, with enough detail for us to locate it;
a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by the rightsholder, its agent, or the law;
a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the rightsholder or authorised to act on their behalf;
your physical or electronic signature.

We will act on complete notices promptly, and will remove or disable access to material we conclude is infringing. Because band spaces are private, we may need to rely on your description to identify the material.

4. Counter-notice

If your file was removed and you believe that was a mistake — for example because you do hold the rights, or the use is permitted — email the same address with a counter-notice giving your contact details, the file that was removed, and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you believe it was removed as a result of mistake or misidentification. We will pass complete counter-notices to the complainant and may reinstate the material.

5. Repeat infringers

We keep a record of material removed for copyright reasons and who uploaded it. Accounts that repeatedly share infringing material will have band-sharing withdrawn and, in appropriate cases, will be terminated. This applies regardless of whether the account is a paying subscriber.

6. What we do not do

We do not pre-screen or monitor what members share, and we do not inspect the contents of band files. Nothing on this page should be read as a claim that we can detect infringing material on our own — we act on reports and notices.

7. Contact

This page describes our process. It is not legal advice, and it does not limit any rights or remedies available to you.