As a collector, roll scanner and roll perforator I've seen attitudes
of every sort towards collecting and sharing.  Most folks are more than
willing to share their collections with others through roll scanning,
but there are those who won't for various reasons.  Much has been said
about the "misers", so I won't dwell on that.  We'll save what we can
and move on -- there's more than enough material to keep us scanners
busy for a long time.

There are also those who have a commercial interest in selling copies
of rolls, and are not willing to make the scan files available to the
public.  The material has been preserved in scan form, so at least it
will not be lost, and I hope that when the market for a particular roll
dies down the owner will allow the file to be copied.  Most sellers
realize that there will always be a market for paper rolls, even if the
files are available, so allow the files to be copied.  If one wanted
only to listen to the music there are several ways to forego paper,
but then the recreation of the original experience is lost.

We have a Disklavier and are in the process of scanning our entire
piano music collection so it can be played on the instrument.  When
that is done we will sell our original rolls and listen to the music
on the Disklavier.  We have a perforator, so if we want to play a paper
copy on our pumper, for instance, we can make a roll from the scan
file.  Since we no longer have reproducing pianos at least we can hear
that kind of music quite well on the Disklavier, though I'll be the
first to admit that it isn't the same as hearing it on an original
instrument.  At the risk of being accused of heresy, I find that the
files played through a high end synthesizer and sound system are nearly
as satisfying as the original.

Needless to say, our files will be available to anyone.

Bob Billings