Music copyright doesn't last forever, but it lasts a long time, and a song and its recording are protected for different periods. The exact numbers depend on the country, so this article gives you the general idea and tells you where to check the rest. It isn't legal advice.
Two kinds of rights, two clocks
Every released song has two layers, and each has its own term:
- The composition: the melody, harmony and lyrics, owned by the writers and their publishers. Copyright in a composition normally lasts for the author's life and a number of decades after their death.
- The recording: a specific performance fixed on a track, owned by the performer, the producer or the label. These rights are often called related or neighbouring rights, and they usually have their own, shorter term, counted from the date of the recording or its first release.
So a song written long ago can still have a recording that is protected, and a very old recording can contain a song that is still protected. You have to look at both.
How long the composition lasts
The international baseline, set by the Berne Convention, is that protection lasts for the author's life plus at least fifty years. Many countries give more. The European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others, use life plus seventy years for most works. Some countries use different periods, and rules for older works can be more complicated, so don't assume that a number you read about for one country applies to yours.
A few details come up often:
- The period is usually counted from the end of the calendar year in which the author died, not from the exact date.
- When a song has several writers, the term often runs from the death of the last surviving one, but countries treat co-authors, and the music and the lyrics, in different ways.
- The rights pass to heirs or to whoever the author gave them to, so a song can be owned by a family, a publisher or an estate long after the writer is gone.
How long the recording lasts
Recording rights are usually counted in decades from the recording or the first release, not from anybody's death. In many countries the period is shorter than the composition's. The exact length varies a lot, and some countries have changed it over time, so the same old record can be protected in one country and free in another.
A related point: a performer's rights, a producer's rights and the label's rights can all exist in the same recording. If you want to use someone else's recording, even an old one, find out who owns it first.
What the public domain means, and what it doesn't
When the term ends, the work enters the public domain, and anyone can use it without permission or payment. That is how classical pieces and very old songs can be performed and recorded freely.
But a public-domain composition doesn't make everything around it free:
- A modern recording of an old piece is protected in its own right. You can record the composition yourself, but you can't take someone else's recent recording of it.
- A new arrangement or adaptation is protected as a new work, even if the original is free.
- A translation or new lyrics you add can be protected too.
Folk music needs particular care. Traditional songs, mugham and ashiq music often have unknown authors, but many countries have special rules for traditional culture, and a specific collected version, arrangement or recording may have an identifiable owner. Don't assume that "it's folk" means "it's free". Check local law, and if you're unsure, ask a lawyer or the body that manages copyright in your country.
Why this matters when you release music
Your own songs are protected from the moment you create them in most countries, and the rights can be passed on. It is worth thinking about who will manage your catalogue in the long term, and keeping your documents in order: lyrics, session files, agreements with co-writers and producers.
When you want to use older material, the rules become practical. When you submit a release in the CULT portal, you confirm that you own or have permission for the audio, artwork and materials. If your release is based on a public-domain work, keep notes on why you believe it is free, including the author's dates and the source of your version, because a review can ask for them.
A short checklist
- Identify the composition and the recording as separate things.
- Find out who the author is and when they died, for the composition.
- Find out when the recording was made or first released, and who owns it.
- Check the rules of the country you care about, not only your own.
- If your plans depend on something being free, get confirmation from an expert before you publish.
Terms are long, but they are not infinite. The safest habit is to treat any music you didn't make as owned by someone until you can show otherwise.