Public Domain Music

## Music in public domain

If a piece of music has become part of the public domain, that means that it belongs to the people.

It belongs to everyone and no one, but it is still risky to use because many companies still try to claim these songs, even if the copyright protection period ended because these artists have been dead for more than 100 years.

The music composed by "classical" composers like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and others is generally considered to be in the public domain.

This means that the copyrights on their compositions have expired, as these composers lived several centuries ago, and their works were created before copyright laws extended for such extended periods.

As a result, their compositions are free to be used by anyone without the need for permission or payment of royalties.

However, specific recordings or performances of these musical pieces may have their copyrights .

For instance, a recent recording of a Mozart piece by a modern orchestra or performer will have its copyright protections.

If you want to use a specific recording, you might need to seek permission or a license to use that particular rendition.

But in terms of the compositions themselves, Mozart, Bach, and many other “classical composers' works are generally in the public domain, making them accessible for use without concerns about royalties.

And that is probably why you can hear it being sampled and being used in projects.

In many countries, copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the creator plus a certain number of years after their death.

For example, in the United States, works published before 1923 are generally considered to be in the public domain

However, the laws have changed over time, extending copyright durations.

in the US and many other countries, some copyright durations have been extended to the life of the creator plus 75 years after their death for individual works created after 1978.

For works created by a corporation or anonymously, copyright protection can last either 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

For older works whose copyrights have expired, they enter the public domain, meaning they are no longer under copyright protection and can be used freely without permission or payment of royalties.

However, determining whether a specific piece of music is in the public domain can involve researching when the composer died and the laws of the country where the work was created or published.

That’s why, for example, in 2008, compositions by George Gershwin became public domain, together with other pieces like Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Tchaikovsky and other artists who passed away more than 75 years ago.

## Using public domain music for projects

Let’s say you found out that a Beethoven piece like ‘Fur Elise’ is no longer copyrighted and you want to use it for a YouTube video or any other content.

It might be public domain, but it is still a little risky to use– especially if you didn’t rerecord the music yourself.

The reason it can be risky isn’t because of the **composition itself.**

The music might be a part of public domain, but the particular recordings that you can download or take from a CD can still be copyrighted.

If you use these recordings for your content, at best, your YouTube video will be stripped of the audio track.

But at worst, publishing companies might take legal action against you and take your video down—preventing you from monetizing your content.

Although it is public domain, publishers can still take action because of the copyright claims on the recording.

## Copyright Intricacies Explained

Many songs might be part of the public domain already because of the laws, but there are still copyright intricacies to watch out for—and the keyword is “recording.”

There are two copyrights that exist, **one is for the composition** and **one is for the recording.**

If a piece of music is already a part of public domain, you can use it for rerecording, live performances and other forms.

However, because there is still copyright that covers the recording, using a recorded piece of for eg public domain music is still prohibited.

Owning the copyright to the recording and the arrangement means you recorded an iteration of the song, and therefore—now you own that arrangement.

For example, if you decide to sing a Mozart piece out loud, that is your arrangement of that composition .

And basically, if you sit down one day at a piano and you play “Fur Elise” on piano, while recording your performance on tape – then that is your arrangement of that recording, and you own the rights in that recording.

When a record company for eg. decides to release a Mozart CD, they make their own arrangement and recording of that music, they own the rights to that recording.

After all, recording companies and artists would not spend thousands of dollars in producing, rerecording or hiring full orchestras, just to give away the music.

With that being said, **nobody owns the compositions** but **somebody can own the recordings and arrangements**—which makes music copyrighted and not royalty-free.

And if you bought for example a Mozart CD, you can use it for personal listening and only that.

## Conclusion

Some of the copyright to creative work lapses after 75 years, so every year new works enter the public domain.

For example, novels like "The Great Gatsby" are recent additions to the public domain. Anyone who wishes can now make a "Great Gatsby" film or opera.

The bulk of Disney properties started out as public domain fairy tales, which Disney then transformed into blockbusters.

Sherlock Holmes the character is in the public domain but Sherlock Holmes films with movie stars are protected by their studios and copyright law.

Additionally, modified public domain works, e.g., if someone painted a mustache on the Mona Lisa, can be copyrighted **as effectively new works**.

This could be problematic in music because a "public domain" composition can easily be altered by adding just a drumbeat, for example.

Hip hop musicians have long had to contend with legal claims from material that was sampled but turned out to be under copyright, whose rights were enforced.

Always verify the copyright status of a piece of music before assuming it's in the public domain, especially if it's a specific recording or a newer arrangement of a "classical - public domain " piece, as those recordings might have their copyrights ( even if the composition itself is in the public domain )

Determining whether music is in the public domain or royalty-free can be a bit complex and varies based on different factors such as the country of origin, the date of creation, and changes in copyright law.

more details and yearly updated list of public domain music works in US : https://www.pdinfo.com

## Questions :

Do you think that listening to, for example, Mozart or Beethoven should be free?

or that the capitalist system charges for the use of his rearranged notes and for decades that huge money goes to corporations and private pockets instead of composers' museums or their music schools?

Is it fair that before listening to Mozart or Beethoven you listen to and watch paid ads and commercials next to their names and who earns money for it?

Historical figures' names and likenesses often enter the public domain after a certain period following their death. In the case of Mozart, as he passed away in 1791, his works, name, and likeness are in the public domain and can generally be used freely for commercial purposes, such as naming a product like "Mozart Chocolates."

companies using names or likenesses of historical figures might not always directly pay a fee for the use of the name, especially if the person's name has entered the public domain,

Other example . The Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci is in the public domain. It was created in the 16th century, and as per copyright laws, artworks of that age have typically passed into the public domain due to the extensive time that has elapsed since the artist's death.

Therefore, from a copyright perspective, you can use images or references to the Mona Lisa for eg branding your restaurant or social media without needing to pay fees or royalties associated with the artwork itself.

The capitalist system made it possible for all that to be legal, as well as slavery was legal .

Who and how today earns the most from artists who died a long time ago > read soon > Legal theft of art