Ray,

You asked me:

"Mike,
Why contact a copyright holder on a song that may never be released?"

Because I have no "right" to "copy" the song. What if the song is already on hold with another artist? Hearing a demo of that song could hurt the deal, in which case by having copied without permission, the copyright owner may have cause to seek damages from me.

In Everett's case above, his publisher had power to assign the right to copy, but as I read your question, you seem to be asking about copying a song without someone's knowledge. I'm not a lawyer, but I can't see the difference between doing that and illegal downloading. It's not the sale of the item, it's the copying.

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music