When you buy a Nocturne Editions score, here is what you can and cannot do with it, in plain English.
Quick reference
| You may | You may not |
|---|---|
| Print up to 3 copies for yourself and your own students | Share, email, resell, or repost the PDF anywhere |
| Perform the music publicly, including paid concerts | Upload it to IMSLP, Scribd, forums, or cloud links |
| Use it on your tablet or score-reading app | Remove our credits or copyright line |
| Mark it up: fingerings, breaths, bowings, anything | Use the engraving in another publication without permission |
What you are buying
You are buying a personal, lifetime license to use our edition, not the file itself in the sense of owning the copyright. Most of the music we publish is in the public domain; the notes belong to everyone. What you pay for is the edition: a careful new engraving, edited and typeset to be a pleasure to read on the stand. That engraving is our copyrighted work, and this license is what lets you use it.
What you may do
Print it. Print up to 3 copies for your own use, including copies for your own private students. Page-turn copies and a spare for your bag are exactly what this is for.
Perform it. Perform from our editions anywhere: recitals, concerts, weddings, livestreams, paid or unpaid. For public domain works, which is most of our catalog, there are no performance royalties on the music itself. For original or contemporary works in our catalog, the product page will note any performance considerations.
Use it digitally. Load the PDF onto your tablet, iPad, or score-reading app on any of your own devices. Annotate it freely.
Mark it up. Fingerings, pedal markings, breath marks, conductor’s notes: it is your copy, make it yours.
What you may not do
Do not share the file. Please do not email the PDF to friends, post it in forums or Facebook groups, share cloud links, or “lend” the file. Each license is for one buyer.
Do not upload it anywhere public. That includes IMSLP, Scribd, MuseScore.com, and similar sites. The underlying music may be public domain, but our engraving is not, and uploads hurt a small publisher directly.
Do not resell or redistribute it. You cannot resell the PDF, include it in a bundle, or distribute printed copies beyond the limit above.
Do not strip the credits. Leave the Nocturne Editions credit and copyright line on the score.
Ensembles and choirs
Ensemble music needs one copy per performer. If your choir or ensemble performs from one of our ensemble editions, buy as many copies as you have performers; ensemble product pages state their minimum purchase quantity. This is how every serious publisher works, and it is what keeps editions like these being made.
Teachers and studios
Teaching from our editions with your own students is covered. If you run a studio, school, or ensemble and need more copies than this license allows, we offer simple, fairly priced studio and institutional licenses. Email contact@nocturneeditions.com and we will sort one out quickly.
A note from the publisher
Nocturne Editions is a small team making clean, beautiful editions of music worth playing. Every honest purchase directly funds the next engraving. Thank you for respecting the license; it genuinely keeps the lights on.
Questions about whether something is allowed? Just ask: contact@nocturneeditions.com. We are reasonable people.