Ultimate Guitar
{{Short description|Guitarist community website}}
{{Multiple issues|{{Update|date=May 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}}}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Ultimate Guitar
| logo = Ultimate Guitar logo 2024.png
| logo_size = 100px
| parent = Muse Group
| url = {{URL|ultimate-guitar.com}}
| commercial = Yes
| type = Tablature archive
| registration = Optional
| owner = Ultimate Guitar USA LLC
| author = Eugeny Naidenov
}}
Ultimate Guitar (Ultimate Guitar USA LLC), also known as Ultimate-Guitar.com or simply UG, is an online platform for guitarists and musicians, started on October 9, 1998 by Eugeny Naidenov{{cite web |date=8 July 2016 |title=Behind the scenes at the biggest website for bedroom guitarists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/08/behind-the-scenes-ultimate-guitar-bedroom-guitarists |access-date=December 28, 2019 |website=www.theguardian.com}} and based in San Francisco, US. Its website and mobile application provide free and paid user-submitted guitar tablatures and chord sheets, as well as video courses, reviews of music and equipment, interviews with musicians and forums. It is now part of Muse Group.{{Cite book |last=Bacon |first=Tony |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.08690 |title=Electric guitar |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |series=Oxford Music Online|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.08690 }}
Features
Users of Ultimate Guitar are able to view, request, vote and comment on tablatures in the site's forum. Guitar Pro and Power Tab files can be run through programs in order to play the tablature. Members can also submit album, multimedia and gear reviews, as well as guitar lessons and news articles. Approved works are published on the website. The forum is moderated, but there has been no censorship of curse and swear words since September 1, 2015.
From 2007 until 2014, Ultimate Guitar allowed its users to create profiles, enabling social networking in a way similar to sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Profiles allowed users to promote their musical projects, photos of gear, snippets of original music, and more. The feature was disabled due to lack of use, as well as legal liability due to copyright violations.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Relationships with music publishers and songwriters
In late 2004 to early 2005, after Taborama and MXtabs.net began closing due to legal threats from the Music Publishers Association of America, UG saw a surge of new users flock to the community. UG argued that it was not subject to the MPA legal actions because its headquarters were in Russia and the site’s practices complied with Russian laws.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/technology/21ecom.html|title=Now the Music Industry Wants Guitarists to Stop Sharing|date=21 August 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 20, 2017}} Since then, UG has signed license agreements with thousands of publishers, including Sony, EMI, Peermusic, Alfred, Hal Leonard, Faber and Music Sales, through which the songwriters receive compensation for the display of the tabs.{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/article/blog/licensing|title=Why songs are licensed?|website=Ultimate-Guitar.com|access-date=September 20, 2017}}
On April 10, 2010, Ultimate Guitar entered an additional licensing agreement with Harry Fox Agency.{{cite web |url=http://www.harryfox.com/public/userfiles/file/PressReleases/HFAUltimateGuitar_20100406_Final.pdf |title="The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. and Ultimate Guitar Enter Licensing Arrangement for Lyrics and Tablature", HarryFox.com |access-date=2017-11-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928051743/http://www.harryfox.com/public/userfiles/file/PressReleases/HFAUltimateGuitar_20100406_Final.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2011 }} The agreement included rights for lyrics display, title search and tablature display with download and print capabilities. HFA's over 44,000 represented publishers have the opportunity to opt into the licensing arrangement with UG.