The orchestra is tuned and on stage, the conductor enters and the music begins to a program set some time before. The orchestral music has been obtained, the program advertised and seats sold. It seems simple enough but what of the composers who created the works being performed? Why is their music sometimes for sale or sometimes only available on a rental basis. Why do our orchestras have to pay so much for one piece and not for another? Why should we have to deal with a difficult publisher when we can photocopy music from another source? These are a few of the questions answered in this overview.