[Dixielandjazz] Copyrights and the Savory collection

[Marvin Ipswitch]

I'm no expert in copyright, but it seems to me that years ago, when 1930s
and 40s broadcasts started cropping up on LP, the general theory was that
once the music was transmitted through the ether via radio broadcast, that
it became public domain, since the musicians were (presumably) paid for the
original gig. So the royalties involved would be with the
publishers/composers.

It also seems to me that sales of CDs from these recordings are going to be
in the thousands, certainly not millions, and the musicians' royalties would
undoubtedly be a very small percentage.

Perhaps the Harlem museum would do better by just making the tracks
available for purchase for download at .99 each, figure the percentage of
royalties, and, as was suggested previously, put the funds in an escrow
account to figure out later.

It would be a great tragedy if, after the discovery and subsequent
restoration work  these recordings are unavailable to be disseminated to
jazz enthusiasts. It would be akin to them not be discovered at all.

Cheers,
Marvin