Most music can enter the public domain if it was created a certain amount of time ago. Public domain music can be used by anyone, but newer music like rap may not be included. Sheet music with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier is evidence that a song is in the public domain. Fair use doctrine allows for certain non-commercial uses of copyrighted music.
Most types of music can be in the public domain, as long as the music was created within a specific period. Sometimes there are references to music such as “public domain jazz,” MP3s, or public domain songs from the iPod®. Public domain jazz means jazz compositions that have been around long enough to enter the public domain. MP3 and iPod® public domain music refers to public domain songs available to be played on those particular types of media players. Most classical music is in the public domain, but newer types of music such as “rap” and some recorded songs are not.
All copyrighted creative works enter the public domain at some point, which means they can be used by anyone. In general, if the author is no longer alive and seventy-five years have passed since copyright protection was obtained, or one hundred years have passed since the work was created, the music enters the public domain. . However, according to U.S. laws enacted specifically to protect music, the work must have been created in or before 1922 to be considered in the public domain. In most other countries, seventy years have passed since the author’s death. In Canada, that’s the author’s life plus fifty years.
Public domain music includes the original sheet music. Also, a person can create their own arrangement or “remake” of a public domain song. This new arrangement can then be copyrighted by its creator. The prevalence of new arrangements of pieces in the public domain can sometimes make it difficult to determine which version is actually in the public domain. In the United States, sheet music with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier is evidence that the song is in the public domain.
Musical sound recordings are copyrighted separately from the musical arrangement itself and may not be in the public domain. However, non-public domain music recordings can be licensed for commercial use. It can also be obtained “copyright free” for personal non-commercial use.
In the United States, some protected music is treated as public domain music under the “fair use doctrine”. Fair use means that copyrighted work can be used without payment under certain conditions. These include writing critical essays on musical works, classroom instruction on a composition’s cultural or musical relevance, research, and other non-commercial uses. Fair use requires that you do not alter the accessibility or value of the work to those who have paid royalties or other compensation to use the work.
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