Re: [ARSCLIST] ASCAP follows RIAA down the road guaranteed not to make friends

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Cox" <doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> On 03/08/07, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Frank Strauss" <fbsdmd@xxxxxxxxx>
> >> On 8/1/07, Steven Smith, King of the House, Inc.
> >> <kingofthehouse@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> Again, 20 years ago, I worked with a large theater chain. They were
> >> told they had to pay ASCAP fees for the music before and after the
> >> show. The owner of the huge Washington chain, instead, managed to
> >> locate a bunch of music that was in the public domain.
> >> How much public domain music is there?
> >>
> > Depends on where ya IS! In the US of A, there effectively isn't ANY
> > (at least as far as the sound recordings go...keep in mind that other
> > laws and terms cover other applicable musical royalties...!!). Here in
> > Canada, in the UK (thanks to a recent decision...!) and in most of
> > elsewhere, the copyright on a SOUND RECORDING lasts either 50 calendar
> > years or 50 years from the end of the year in which the given sound
> > recording was "fixed" (a term which, for some reason, scares my
> > cat...) :-)
> However, the question was about music rather than recordings.
>
And the answer remains the same! Each country has its own set of copyright
laws, which define the terms for various forms/types of copyright as well
as whether copyright can be renewed. In the case of the publisher/composer
copyright, more information can be obtained from the entity which collects
the relevant royalties; in the US of A, the Harry Fox Agency, and in Canada
CMRRA. A small bit of web searching should lead listeners to the appropriate
web site...which will also provide search facilities for the titles of interest.

Steven C. Barr