Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda & More Will Stand Up Against Sheet Music Piracy at Dramatists Guild Event, 4/21

The Dramatists Guild's Anti-Piracy Committee will host their first-ever Anti-Piracy awareness event on Monday, April 21 from 5pm - 7pm.

During the event, established and up-and-coming musical theatre writers will pair up to reach out to known sheet music pirates and ask them to take down the links to their sheet music. The day is intended to raise awareness about the problem of sheet music piracy and take steps against the digital distribution of stolen sheet music.

Participating writers include committee chair Craig Carnelia as well as committee members Stephen Flaherty, Kait Kerrigan, Andrew Lippa, Brian Lowdermilk, Georgia Stitt, and Sean Patrick Flahaven. In addition, the committee will be joined by Julia Jordan, Michael Kooman, Amanda Green, Stephen Schwartz, Gretchen Cryer, Nancy Ford, Micki Grant, Mark Hollmann, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Gwon, David Shire, Nathan Tysen and Stephen Sondheim (all participants subject to change).

The Anti-Piracy Committee was founded in 2010 after Dramatists Guild member Georgia Stitt brought sheet music piracy to the Dramatists Guild's attention with a community-wide email entitled "What happens when I get angry about my sheet music being traded for free". What many had been aware of as a growing problem was suddenly given a community-wide platform. The committee has produced numerous resources for writers, such as guides for self-publishing sheet music, as well as "Someone Wrote That Song," a musical PSA with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Craig Carnelia.