how to use old songs copyrighted

[midwestedit]

how long does a license last? like, my teacher said we can use Beethoven song on our project because its free domain or something?
what type of songs are fee domain? over 100 years since artist death? or anyone know anything or links

thanks

 

[indietalk]

how long does a license last? like, my teacher said we can use Beethoven song on our project because its free domain or something?
what type of songs are fee domain? over 100 years since artist death? or anyone know anything or links

thanks

You are free to record a public domain song, but you are not free to just use any recording. If you bought a CD, the recording would be a recent copyright. To be able to use the song you would have to have an orchestra record it so you owned the recording, or you would have to license a current recording the same way you would license a current song. Usually you own the rights in perpetuity.

 

[Zensteve]

Yah, copyright law can be weird at times. It seems to get changed/updated, whenever Disney's Mickey Mouse gets set to become public domain.

But yah, the old classical composers are pretty much fair game, but an artist's recording of it is their own property (until whenever the heck current copyright law says it is)

No reason why you can't record it yourself. In one (really awful) film I made, I gave myself a crash-course in piano (well, I was a bit rusty) to use Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. I 'spose I own the rights to that recording of it.

It was a musical treat, I tell ya'

Sounds like you're in a school of some kind. Why not ask your music dept. head if they have recordings they've made from school orchestra, and if so... permission to use them? They can sign a simple release, and get a mention in the credits, or something.

 

[Kenney]

Try this site www.108thstreetrecords.com

 

[cibao]

Or try any public domain songs/music here:

http://www.archive.org/index.php