Report a rights issue

Karalyr is a free, non-commercial, open-source database of word-synced karaoke lyrics. Two things sit in it: timing data — the millisecond positions of each word within a recording — and the lyric text those timings point at.

No audio is stored, served, or transmitted by this site. Alignment happens on a contributor’s own machine against audio they hold, and only the timings leave it.

Lyric text is submitted by contributors, not compiled by the operator. We don’t assert ownership of any lyrics here, and crediting a writer is not a claim of licence — where a rightsholder objects, the answer is removal, not argument.

Whether you use the form or email, we need four things:

• Who you are, and your relationship to the work — owner or authorised agent.
• Which work you hold rights in, identified clearly enough that we can be sure.
• What on Karalyr you say infringes it. Page URLs are ideal.
• An email address we can reply to.

You will also be asked to state that you believe in good faith that the use is unauthorised, and that what you have told us is accurate. That is the substance of a notice under the DMCA and equivalent regimes; we don’t require any particular format beyond it.

• Acknowledged within 3 working days, with a reference number.
• Removed on acceptance. The lyric text is purged from the database, not merely hidden — the revision row survives as a record of what was removed and why, with no content in it.
• The song’s entry may remain with its title, artist and duration but no lyrics. That metadata is factual information about a recording. If you believe it should also go, say so and we will discuss it.
• If we decline — normally because the work is public domain, openly licensed, or submitted by its own rightsholder — we will tell you why rather than ignore you.

Contributors whose submissions are repeatedly removed on valid notices are blocked from publishing. Karalyr accepts contributions without accounts, so a block is applied to the submitter identifier attached to each revision. It is an imperfect identifier and we know it can be evaded; we act on what we can see.

Blocks are recorded with a reason and the number of removals that preceded them. If you have been blocked and think it’s wrong, write to milan.knezevic@betania.io.

Contributors whose work was removed can object to the same address. Tell us what was removed and why you believe you hold the rights or that the work is free to use — public-domain material, an open licence, or your own song. If you’re right, we restore it and record that too.

Please don’t. Karalyr wants public-domain and traditional material, openly licensed work, and songs submitted by the people who wrote them. If you’re unsure whether something qualifies, ask before publishing — the Studio is not a place to launder a catalogue.