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Joined: Apr 2015
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Journeyman
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 483 |
Is it allowed to post cover songs here, if they are in the public domain (traditional or copyright owners have pasted away over 70 years ago)?
I read that "The songs must be originals, no copyrighted or "cover" songs. You must have all of the rights to the songs."
I ask this, because I have lately produced a lot of public domain songs. I would like to post them, if it's allowed.
Last edited by Brno; 02/20/25 01:38 AM.
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You can post original songs without any problem.
You can also post public domain songs without any issues because they're no longer under copyright.
You can also post covers of copyrighted songs as long as you have legally obtained the license and control your version. It's helpful if you include the license number in your post to prove that you do in fact have the legal rights to the song.
You can also post parody versions of copyrighted songs since that is legally protected by the copyright law.
Hope this answers your questions
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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To be public domain in the USA the song must have been published prior to 1930. Each year it moves forward a year … meaning on Jan 1 2026 it will include songs published before 1931. This started a few years back with major changes in the US laws. Your version must not copy another artist’s version. If all of this is followed then you own all rights to your version and can refer to it as trad. arr. (traditional arrangement). There are many misconceptioms regarding this but the above is correct. We have a full album of PD songs on Spotify and our current post here is PD. A 70 year old song would cause you copyright issues on the streaming platforms. Duke university is a great source for US PD info. Duke University PD Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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YES!!! Great question. Janice & Bud have some outstanding albums of PD songs done waaay better than the originals. Nigel Spiers also posts some amazing renditions of PD songs. Bring 'em on.
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Don't disagree with any of the responses, and totally agree that public domain covers are a lot of fun. However, the forum guidelines are not crystal clear on this point. Would be helpful if they were updated...
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Thanks a lot. In Europe a song is free to use, if the author is unknown (traditional) or the author has passed away over 70 years ago or it's a parody (that is in a gray area).
So I'm free to post also here my versions of the great songs of the American songbook published prior to 1930.
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Thanks a lot. In Europe a song is free to use, if the author is unknown (traditional) or the author has passed away over 70 years ago or it's a parody (that is in a gray area).
So I'm free to post also here my versions of the great songs of the American songbook published prior to 1930. Just because the author has passed away doesn't mean the music is public domain. Very often music publishing companies or family members will retain the rights. Obtaining a license is the way to go, though it can be expensive, but if you're sued by a music publisher it can 10 times or more expensive than the license. One can't even use a single line from a copyrighted song in a novel without infringing copyright and getting sued for enormous amounts. That's because there's no such thing as "fair usage" when it comes to lyrics or poetry. So you have to be very, very careful, especially if a music publisher owns the rights.
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Maybe the copyright laws are different in Europe than in USA?
From Wikipedia the copyrights in Europe:
"The rights of authors are protected within their lifetime and for 70 years after their death; this includes the resale rights of artists."
"The rights of performers last for 50 years from the distribution or communication of the performance, or for 50 years from the performance itself if it had never been communicated to the public during this period. The rights of phonogram producers last for 50 years after publication of the phonogram, or for 50 years after its communication to the public if it had never been published during that period, or for 50 years after its creation if it had never been communicated to the public."
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I posted a link in my first response that thoroughly explained US copyright laws and they are dramatically different from European laws. IMO they should be followed when posting here. Also the streaming platforms would not accept a song as PD only per European protocols.
FWIW I think this subject would be better discussed in the off topic or production forum as The User Showcase is for posting member productions and it is very busy lately with that. The other two forums I mention also have frequent knowledgable members posting about more technical issues like this.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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I started this thread here, because the instructions for posting here goes: "The songs must be originals, no copyrighted or "cover" songs. You must have all of the rights to the songs." But I found out, that here is posted cover songs, so I wanted to know., what exactly here is regarded as "no copyrightds", do they differ the rules I'm used to in Europe and in SoundCloud and Facebook. It would help, if the instructions we're more exact.
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I checked, that SoundCloud is based in Berlin, Germany, so what I release there, should follow the regulations of the European Union. How about posting here?
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