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Matthew King Kaufman | Public Domain 4U

1927 WAS A GOOD YEAR FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN

1927 was a good year for the recordings!  January 1 is the day all the copyrights created in 95 year ago expire.  The record machine which is older was invented to the betterment of mankind. Music spreads like a disease, but doesn’t kill.  Records became the great equaliser.  Musicians from all over the world learn techniques and music from records. Because most of the modern records.  music could be spread by” listening only” in an era that required reading to master music. It’s as significant as the -0s and 1s of digitized world, These records , which are portable and available to anyone who had functioning ears. So i think 1927 was so important. This became the end of this practice with hit records not songs.

MINECRAFT AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

“The End Poem” the end of the game when and if you kill the dragon, was placed in the public domain by Julian Gough via twitter. Public domain is tricky .The placing of anything in the public domain requires the artist to place the work in the public domain As it turns out Julian had no contract with Microsoft or the game’s owner about the poem and contributed it to the public forever. Public Domain made this possible because of contracts Irene had to use an alias to record. You can hear Blake’s vocals in the background.

St. Louis raised Irene Scruggs’ amazing vocals come alive in ” Married Man Blues.”  Scruggs blends beautifully with the strumming of Blind Blake’s guitar in this 1930 recording that was never released on 78.  Known for her alluring voice and raunchy/sexy blues sensibilities, her voice tunes with the music in such a way that you just feel her passion. Scruggs is a definite female blues recording artist that time has proven worthy Enjoy 🙂

 

 

WHY I LOVE PUBLIC DOMAIN MUSIC

Jazz greats have to start somewhere, Louie Armstrong started here. Joseph Nathan Oliver, known as King Oliver, an excellent coronet player himself, gave Louis his 1st entertainment job in his creole band, took him under his wings, and taught him the music biz ropes. Tim Gracyk has made a sensational YouTube post of this song, and it includes some gr8 old images. I encourage you to expand your music horizons and give a listen.

I NEED HELP

This Earth Day will see the remix’s release,

Please help me!  I wrote this song in 1976. The recording I made got the attention of the record company guy (me at the time), who got my message. I want the message to get out to everyone.  I didn’t perform it because I thought it was an obvious sentiment. I’m now too old to want promote this song live or on social media, ergo I NEED YOUR HELP.

A BRIEF HISTORY:

I was walking through an exhibit of player pianos in 1975 and saw a one-man-band playing “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa. It was so cool! I recorded it with Glen Kolotkin. I wrote a ditty incorporating a nursery rhyme about being kind to web-footed friends in my duck voice. I was helped by Jon Sargent of Purple Earthquake , who arranged the vocals and Tommy Dunbar, Rubinoos, who added electric guitar in the “Pete” tradition of working with Beserkley band members.

The song was released in 1976 to coincide with the America’s 200th birthday. I never toured, I was not an act.. After the recording paid for itself, I stopped working the song. I felt the premise of the song was so obvious and forgot about it until

IT GOT ERIC DIN’S ATTENTION.

THE SONG GOT ERIC DIN’S (another record company guy) ATTENTION.

Says Din: “We’re excited to get this timely remix out to the streaming services on Earth Day 2022. I was surprised to learn Pete did the “duck” vocals himself, and when I read the lyrics, this suddenly became more than a novelty song for me. It’s an unexpected environmental anthem, and we’re proud to release it on Berkeley Cat Records.

I made the original video with Calvin West, drawings by Trimla Rose, and I posted it on Youtube.

EXACTLY, WHAT IS PUBLIC DOMAIN MUSIC? WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.

Before the copyright 

intellectual property was preserved by common law. Then the copyright concept allowed one to own the intellectual property they created. The copyright developed its own lengths for protection and who, what, and when the copyright can vest  are ever changing issues. There was even an international agreement about this issue.

Public domain traces its roots to the copyright movement when the printers in Europe introduced concept of ownership of an idea or intellectual property. Copyright law was one of the first laws passed in the U.S. in 1790.  When the copyright expires, the work enters the public domain. 

What actually happens 

There is noone with a copyright to enforce. So you are on your own. A correct use of this public use should not have anyone trying to enforce the copyright. Of course the person (usually a publisher) who has collected monies on behalf of the copyright hates you,  Free use is the last thing to encourage, and will still try to collect on this earning copyright. The music composition has two copyrights one covering the composition and another covering the sound recording. They are referred to as the circle “p” and the circle  “c.” They represent the both of the copyrights in musical compositions. So after you are convinced the music use  is what is yours by law, please don’t expect anyone to inform you. If the intellectual property is in the public domain, no one will have standing to enforce anything. 

So i recommend doing your own research

as to whether the intellectual property is in the public domain. This research will help as a precursor to a potential challenge to your use. 

Once you have ascertained the music was in the public domain

use it for what ever you want and wait for no one to enforce the copyright

One rule of thumb,  

In any country music made before 1923 is in the public domain.

Fortunately for music 

the phonograph had been in invented years before.

 

This is an example of a song in the public domain by virtue of the date. 1923