[Dixielandjazz] tune list of 20 Songs POSSIBLY in Public Domain

[Rorel at aol.com]

A little long, but a recap appears at the bottom for those who prefer my  
posts Bowdlerized.
 
In a message dated 2/27/2007 11:12:06 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

Bob  Ringwald asked about public domain tunes that you might list when  faced
with the money grubbers from ASCAP, BMI and/or SESAC. And Ray Osnato  pays a
$35 ASCAP fee for more current tunes. Below is my quick 20 PD  list:

SNIP


1914    Yellow Dog Blues
1915    Jelly Roll  Blues
1917    At The Jazz Band Ball
1917    Back  Home Again In Indiana
1917    Rose Room
1917     Original Dixieland One Step
1917    Darktown Strutters  Ball
1917    Tiger Rag
1918    After You've  Gone
1919    Royal Garden Blues

Others include: My Honey's  Lovin Arms, China Boy, Chinatown My Chinatown,
Sensation Rag, Take Me Out  To The Ball Game, Dallas Blues, Peg O' My Heart,
Ballin The Jack, I Ain't  Got Nobody, Pretty Baby, Poor Butterfly 
SNIP



All 1922 or prior and in public domain for whenever the Tune  Nazis are out
and about. 
All these tunes are indeed 1922 or prior but before one can say with  
confidence that they are PD one must ascertain if the copyright was renewed at  any 
time after that.  A quick rule of thumb to determine if the copyright  was 
renewed would be to look at a current copy of the music, if there are TWO  dates 
or a date after 1922, the copyright has been renewed and the work is NOT  in 
public domain.

I do  over 100 concerts a year with over 200 people in attendance,
some with 5000  in the audience and so Ray's $35 fee would become $3500 to
$5000 a year.  That's a lot of money for a scam. 
First of all Steve, it is not a scam, it is the law.  If a song is  under 
copyright you have to pay to use it. Period.  Secondly, YOU, as an  independent 
contractor hired by a group or facility do NOT have to apply for a  license.  
It is the responsibility of the presenter or sponsor or whatever  you want to 
call it to obtain a license.  Anytime I hire hall to play a  self-sponsored 
concert where the band keeps the ticket money, I pays the bucks,  knowing I have 
taken care of my responsibilities to my fellow musicians who  wrote the songs 
I am performing.  If we are hired to come into a venue  and play as a hired 
hand for the night, you or I need not pay a thing.

And if  you've licensed songs
for a CD, it's approximately $80 per song, 3 minutes  or less, so if Billy
Joel paid $500 for a multi thousand audience, the rest  of us get screwed
licensing 15 songs for a 1000 CD run. (Costs over $1200  for the license)

We do this daily at my little record company, where we issue about 75  
records a year.  I don't handle this part of the business but let's look at  Steve's 
numbers since I have no reason to doubt them.  You've pressed  1000 CDs that 
you are going to sell for $15 a pop at your gigs.  $15,000 in  my book.  A 
quick check of the Internet shows you can get a short run of  1000 CDs for 
$1,200.  With Steve's figure of $1,200 for licensing that  leaves you with over 
$12,000 profit.  Even if it cost you $2500 to record  it, you've still made 
$10,000 on the venture.  Not a bad return on your  investment.
 
Everyone is making ASCAP out to be Joseph Mengele and it is not  the case.  
They will not show up at your gig and buy a CD and ask if you  have the proper 
licensing.  If you market your CD with a national retailer  you may attract 
their attention.  But where most of us are concerned, ASCAP  has bigger fish to 
fry.


And  what to do if playing for free? Pay a license fee? I don't think  so.
Once again, you do not have to pay the fee unless YOU are the presenter and  
you are CHARGING for the concert.  If Steve and Ray's Comatose  Syncopators 
are hired to play the Milk of Magnesia Room in the Bruno  Hauptmann Towers, it 
is up to the hotel to have an ASCAP License, not the  band.
 
The simple fact is, if a tune is under copyright, you have to pay to use  it. 
 Don't get me wrong, I am not on a soapbox here, I have performed songs  
without proper clearance in my questionable past.  But to do so is breaking  the 
law and to call it a scam doesn't make it right.  Many feel income tax  is a 
scam, but one is still required to pay.
 
Recap:
 
Just because a tune was written in 1922 or earlier does not automatically  
mean it is in the PD.  Its copyright may have been renewed or  reassigned.  Some 
of the tunes on Steve's list may indeed be  protected titles.  if I were 
issuing them on CD for national  distribution, I would investigate each one 
further.
 
You as a performer are not responsible for obtaining a license.  The  
presenting organization or venue should already have a license.  If you  hire a hall, 
charge for the tickets and keep the proceeds then YOU are the  presenter it 
would be in your best interest to pay the modest fee and not have  to worry.  
If you don't chances are you are breaking the law.
 
Licensing tunes for CD production, particularly if the CD is to enjoy  
widespread distribution is a cost of doing business.
 
Paying people for the use of their intellectual property is not a scam, it  
is the law.  No matter how you try to justify it, if you use a protected  tune 
without paying you are committing a crime.
 
I am not being judgmental, just trying to set the record straight.  It  is 
amazing how little working musicians know about copyright law.  Make a  phone 
call or spend an hour on the web.  It can't hurt.  And don't  take the word of 
one of these Royalty-Free Music sites that proliferate the  Internet who are 
interested only in your using their site.  They all  conveniently leave out the 
fact that if copyright has been renewed on a pre-1922  composition it is NOT 
in the public domain.  Here is a good article for a  starting point:
 
_http://www.multcolib.org/guides/copyright/public_domain.html_ 
(http://www.multcolib.org/guides/copyright/public_domain.html) 
 
Clear and concise, here is the phrase Steve and the "free music" websites  
omit:
 
"If published in 1922 or earlier, without two dates in  the music score 
indicating a copyright renewal (1922 c.1945),  the music falls within the public 
domain and there are no conditions attached to  use in the United States."
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Ray Osnato
Currently Doing Nine-toTen in Leavenworth
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