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Re:NMPA Targets Unlicensed Lyric Sites, Rap Genius Among 50 ... by Amadou on Monday November 11, 2013 @08:23PM (#6715271)
at first glance it might seem like you are referring to the right to publish someone else's work for profit without paying them anything.

The thing is that the value in this case is not in the lyrics themselves but in the transcription and compilation into a central database. The people looking them up already have a copy - they are listening to the song. A transcription is something they could do themselves if they wanted to put in the effort.

From a maximalist perspective you are quite correct. But from the perspective of how much the publication affects the market for the lyrics I think it is reasonable to conclude that at worst the impact is marginal and in the vast majority of cases it has none at all.

Re:NMPA Targets Unlicensed Lyric Sites, Rap Genius Among 50 ... by whiddershins on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @01:01AM (#6716128)
That's what copyright means. The right to make copies.
Re:NMPA Targets Unlicensed Lyric Sites, Rap Genius Among 50 ... by Amadou on Tuesday November 12, 2013 @01:30AM (#6716213)
It is actually the right to exclude others from making copies.

It is not an absolute right either. Even the most hardcore maximalists accept that there are some conditions under which that right does not exist, c.f. Jack Valenti's acknowledgement that it would be unconstitutional if the term of copyright was forever.

http://www.jwz.org/blog/2003/11/forever-less-one-day/