Their are lots of sheets properly licensed that show the notes to play ‘stairway to heaven’. Many intro to guitar books, etc. If I publish myself playing that song without the copyright owners permission (and typically attribution) I am looking at some very, very negative outcomes. The fact that there are many copies correctly licensed (or not) does not obsolve me of anything. Curious how this any different?
> If I publish myself playing that song without the copyright owners permission
Music licensing is bonkers but AFAIR (at least in the UK) I think you're allowed to do covers without explicit permission[1] - you'll have to give the original writers/composers the appropriate share of any money you make.
[1] Which is why you (used to?) get, e.g., supermarkets playing covers of songs rather than the originals because it's cheaper.
In the UK, at least, it seemed to depend on several decades of accumulated rules and whatnots that only the PRS understood[1] (but I haven't been involved in anything related to music licensing for a few years and even then it was baffling.)
[1] Things like "was it on the radio or a TV show or a live performance or a recording? who was the composer? which licensing region was it in?" etc.
