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   Public Domain Music
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The YoLinux portal covers topics from desktop to servers and from developers to users"name=description><meta content="Greg Ippolito"name=author><link rel="shortcut icon"href=/favicon.ico type=image/x-icon><link href=../css/bootstrap.min.css rel=stylesheet><link href=../css/yolinux-res.css rel=stylesheet><body><a name=TOP> </a><div class=container-fluid><div class=row itemprop=breadcrumb><ol class=yo-breadcrumb itemscope itemtype=http://schema.org/BreadcrumbList><li class=yo-breadcrumb itemprop=itemListElement itemscope itemtype=http://schema.org/ListItem><a href=/ itemprop=item rel=home> <span itemprop=name> Home </span> </a> <meta content=1 itemprop=position><li class=yo-breadcrumb itemprop=itemListElement itemscope itemtype=http://schema.org/ListItem><a href=/TUTORIALS/ itemprop=item> <span itemprop=name> Tutorials </span> </a> <meta content=2 itemprop=position><li class="yo-breadcrumb active"itemprop=itemListElement itemscope itemtype=http://schema.org/ListItem><a href=/TUTORIALS/PublicDomainMusic.html itemprop=item> <span itemprop=name> Public Domain Music </span> </a> <meta content=3 itemprop=position></ol></div><div class=row><div class="col-sm-3 top-space"><a href=http://www.yolinux.com/> <img alt="Yolinux.com Tutorial"border=none src=images/YoLinux_Tutorial_logo.png> </a></div><div class=col-sm-9><h1>Public Domain Music</h1><p>Sources of free public domain, royalty free music.<div align=center class=ad-head><iframe allowtransparency class=adframe frameborder=0 height=90 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 scrolling=no src=/ADVERTISING/iframe728x90px-ValueClick.html style=border:none;width:720;height:90;padding:0; width=720></iframe></div><p></div></div><div class=row><div class=col-sm-12><b> Tutorial Table of Contents: </b><ul><li># <a href=#DESCRIPTION> Definition and Description </a><li># <a href=#PUBLICDOMAINMUSIC> Sources of Public Domain Music </a><li># <a href=#LICENSES> Licenses </a><li># <a href=#ORGANIZATIONS> Organizations </a><li># <a href=#PUBLISHERS> Publishers </a><li># <a href=#DISTRIBUTORS> Distributors </a></ul><p></div></div><div class=row><div class="row row-nav-height"><nav class="navbar-inverse navbar-custom"><div class=navbar-header><button class=navbar-toggle data-target=#navbarCollapse data-toggle=collapse type=button><span class=sr-only> Toggle navigation </span> <span class=icon-bar> </span> <span class=icon-bar> </span> <span class=icon-bar> </span></button><a class=navbar-brand href=/> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-home"> </span> YoLinux Home </a></div><form class="navbar-form navbar-left"action=http://search.yolinux.com/cgi-bin/htsearch method=post><div class=input-group><input name=method type=hidden value=all><input name=format type=hidden value=long><input name=sort type=hidden value=score><input name=config type=hidden value=htdig-yolinux><input name=restrict type=hidden><input name=exclude type=hidden><input class=form-control maxlength=80 name=words placeholder=Search size=20><div class=input-group-btn><button class="btn btn-default"><i class="glyphicon glyphicon-search"> </i></button></div></div></form><div class="collapse navbar-collapse"id=navbarCollapse><ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right"><li><a title="YoLinux Web Site Tutorials Index"href=/TUTORIALS/> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-list-alt"> </span> <span class=nav-label> Linux Tutorials </span> </a><li><a title="YoLinux.com terms of use"href=/YoLinux-Terms.html> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-info-sign"> </span> <span class=nav-label> Terms </span> </a><li><a title="YoLinux.com privacy policy"href=/privacy.html> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-briefcase"> </span> <span class=nav-label> Privacy Policy </span> </a><li><a title="Advertising rates for YoLinux.com"href=/YoLinux-Advertising.html> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-blackboard"> </span> <span class=nav-label> Advertising </span> </a><li><a title="Send us an email"href=/YoLinuxEmailForm.html> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-envelope"> </span> <span class=nav-label> Contact </span> </a></ul></div></nav></div></div><div class=yo-row><div id=leftcol><div class=sectionv1><p><font size=-1> <b> Related YoLinux Tutorials: </b> </font><p><font size=-1> ° <a href=LinuxTutorialCDBurn.html#BURNDVD> Burn DVD on Linux </a> </font><p><font size=-1> ° <a href=LinuxTutorialVideo.html> Video and Linux </a> </font><p><font size=-1> ° <a href=Video-Editor-Openshot.html> Openshot Video Editor </a> </font><p><font size=-1> ° <a href=LinuxTutorialMP3.html> Ripping MP3s </a> </font><p><font size=-1> ° <a href=/TUTORIALS/> YoLinux Tutorials Index </a> </font><hr></div><div class=sectionv2><p><script async src=https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js></script> <ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-8567479315106986 data-ad-slot=8947481941 style=display:inline-block;width:160px;height:600px> </ins> <script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script><hr><p><a href=http://yolinux.tradepub.com/> Free Information Technology Magazines and Document Downloads <br> <img alt="TradePub link image"border=0 src=images/TradePubMagazines.gif> </a></div></div><div id=content><a name=DESCRIPTION> </a><div class=labelbar>Definition and Description:</div><p>Public Domain Music is a release of music unencumbered by copyright or other intellectual property rights so that it can be used by others freely. Typically works in the public domain have intellectual property rights which have expired or have been forfeited by license or permission.<p>Use of music is often restricted by the owners who have copyrights and require agreements and royalties for its' use. This is their right. Thus the music can not be used without permission and/or payment of a fee. If you want to create a home video of the family and publish it on YouTube, don't even think of putting down a sound track without first obtaining the proper permission and/or paying a royalty. Some music is in the public domain for unrestricted use because all rights have expired, the owner or author has released it to the public domain or is old enough to have never had a copyright.<p>Recordings of the music must also be released into the public domain or else it too can be copyrighted.<p><a name=PUBLICDOMAINMUSIC> </a><div class=labelbar>List of sources of Public Domain Music/Royalty Free Music:</div><p>This is a list of sources of public domain and royalty free music. Read all disclaimers and small print. Many sites commingle free and paid music. Another note of caution is that a lot of public domain music has been claimed by companies that have absolutely no copyright claims to the music whatsoever. I used a scratchy recording in a YouTube video of a Southern blues solo artist taped in the 1920's outside of a closed gas station that was released on a free music website as open source and free to use. A year later I get an infraction notice from YouTube because some company claimed it. I also had an artist change his terms from Creative Commons Attribution to a paid license release. YouTube was quick to notify me of my violation of use. The best source of Open Source music is your own (if you play an instrument), your friends (with their permission) or <a href=http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary rel=nofollow target=_blank> Google's YouTube audio library </a> . It is free and they have never changed their terms. Thank You Google.</p><b> Music: </b><img alt="Linux Tux at the piano"align=right src=images/tux-piano-Ity-2.gif><ul><li><a href=http://www.freesoundtrackmusic.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FreeSoundTrackMusic.com </a> - royalty free with attribution to composer and site. Huge selection by music genre<li><a href=http://freepd.com rel=nofollow target=_blank> FreePD.com </a> - MP3s<li><a href=http://www.openmusicarchive.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> OpenMusicArchive.org </a> - old out-of-copyright recordings<li><a href=http://www.pdmusic.org rel=nofollow target=_blank> pdmusic.org </a> - midi<li><a href=http://www.publicdomain4u.com rel=nofollow target=_blank> publicdomain4u.com </a> - lots of old recordings<li><a href=http://www.audiosoundclips.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> AudioSoundClips.com: royalty free </a><li><a href=https://www.pdinfo.com/public-domain-music-list.php rel=nofollow target=_blank> PDInfo.com: public domain list </a><li><a href=http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Choral Public Domain Library: CPDL.org </a> - midi and mp3<li><a href=http://www.cipoo.net/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Public Domain Choral Music: CIPOO.net </a> - midi<li><a href=http://www.musopen.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> MusOpen.com </a> - classical music database<li><a href=http://pianosociety.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> PianoSociety.com </a> - classical piano music<li><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sound/list rel=nofollow target=_blank> Wkipedia.org: PD music on their site </a> - mostly classical<li><a href=http://www.unheardbeethoven.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Beethoven </a> - midi<li><a href=http://www.danosongs.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> DanoSongs.com </a> - MP3's by composer Dan-O. Free with credit/attribution. $10.00/track without.<li><a href=http://incompetech.com/music/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Incompetech.com </a> - Large selection for all genres. For fee and free are mixed together - be careful.<li><a href=http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> PartnersInRhyme.com </a><li><a href=http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/index.php rel=nofollow target=_blank> UCSB.edu historical archives </a><li><a href=http://www.jamendo.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Jamendo.com </a> - Musician share site, Creative Commons-licensed music<li><a href=http://freemusic.freeculture.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FreeMusic.FreeCulture.org </a> - Musician share site, Music distributed worldwide in One Laptop Per Child project<li><a href=http://www.opsound.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Opsound.org </a> - Creative Commons artist uploads<li><a href=http://betterwithmusic.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> BetterWithMusic.com </a> - Jahzzar (Javier Suarez) Creative Commons attribution only<li><a href=http://www.freeplaymusic.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FreePlayMusic.com </a> - Free and for fee music. Read the terms closely.<li><a href=http://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary rel=nofollow target=_blank> Google's YouTube audio library </a> - free downloads for use in videos (not for audio redistribution or site duplication)</ul> Avoid anything owned by the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). The IODA website clearly stated "legal, pre-cleared MP3s" until you use them and they hunt you down to stop you from using them (my personal experience) [IODA is now <a href=http://www.theorchard.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> TheOrchard </a> ] <p></p><b> Sounds and Sound Effects: </b><ul><li><a href=http://www.findsounds.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FindSounds.com </a> - search database<li><a href=http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Pacific Digital Video: PacDV.com </a> - sound effects and <a href=http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/free-music.html rel=nofollow target=_blank> music </a><li><a href=http://www.freesound.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FreeSound.org </a> - Creative Commons licensed sounds<li><a href=http://www.ccmixter.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> CCMixter.org </a> - samples and mixes released under Creative Commons license<li><a href=http://www.funkyremixes.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> FunkyRemixes.com </a> - free remixes</ul><p></p><b> Wikipedia Lists: </b><ul><li><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sound/list rel=nofollow target=_blank> Full length copyleft/public domain musical works </a><li><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_domain_tangos rel=nofollow target=_blank> Tangos </a></ul><p></p><b> Google Search: </b><ul><li><a href=http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=002157614283018392829%3Aktlp_kp7blc rel=nofollow target=_blank> Open Music Search </a><li><a href=http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html rel=nofollow target=_blank> Google Music search </a></ul><p><a name=LICENSES> </a><div class=labelbar>Licenses:</div><p><ul><li><a href=http://creativecommons.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> CreativeCommons.org </a> - <a href=http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Description of the six main Creative Commons licenses </a><li><a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain rel=nofollow target=_blank> Public Domain </a><li><a href=http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> CopyLeft </a></ul><p><a name=ORGANIZATIONS> </a><div class=labelbar>Organizations:</div><p></p> Authors: <ul><li><a href=http://www.cisac.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> CISAC: International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies </a> - France<li><a href=http://www.sadaic.org.ar/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> SADAIC </a> - Argentina<li><a href=http://www.gema.de/en/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> GEMA </a> - Germany<li>USA performing rights organizations: <ul><li><a href=http://www.sesac.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> SESAC: Society of European Stage Authors & Composers </a> - USA performing rights organization<li><a href=http://www.ascap.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers </a> - performing rights organization which licenses and collects royalties for performance and service. Advocacy for songwriters, composers and music publishers.<li><a href=http://www.bmi.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> BMI: Broadcast Music Inc. </a></ul><li><a href=http://www.soundexchange.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Sound Exchange </a> - The Copyright Royalty Board, which is appointed by The U.S. Library of Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the sole entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties on behalf of featured recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who record and own their masters.</ul><p></p> Publishers: <ul><li><a href=http://www.riaa.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> RIAA: Recording Industry Association of America </a></ul><p></p> Mechanical: <ul><li><a href=http://www.biem.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> BIEM: Bureau International des societies gerant les droits d'Eneregisttrement et de reproduction Mechanique </a> - Mechanical rights societies exist in most countries. They license the reproduction of songs and mechanical aspects of the downloading of music via the Internet<li><a href=http://www.harryfox.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Harry-Fox </a> - USA agency for collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers</ul><p><a name=PUBLISHERS> </a><div class=labelbar>Publishers:</div><p></p> Web Based Music Distribution: <ul><li><a href=http://www.tunecore.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> TuneCore.com </a> - publisher which does not demand ownership. Digital distribution worldwide.<li><a href=http://www.cdbaby.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> CDBaby.com </a><li><a href=http://www.theorchard.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> TheOrchard.com </a></ul><p><a name=DISTRIBUTORS> </a><div class=labelbar>Distributors:</div><p><ul><li><a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/dmusic rel=nofollow target=_blank> Amazon.com: MP3 </a><li><a href=http://www.AOLMusic.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> AOLMusic.com </a><li><a href=http://www.ArtistDirect.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> ArtistDirect.com </a><li><a href=http://www.eMusic.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> eMusic.com </a><li><a href=http://www.itunes.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Itunes.com </a> - Apple<li><a href=http://www.youtube.com/music/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> YouTube.com/music/ </a><li><a href=http://www.MP3.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> MP3.com </a><li><a href=https://myspace.com/discover/songs rel=nofollow target=_blank> MySpace.com </a><li><a href=http://www.qtrax.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> www.Qtrax.com </a><li><a href=http://www.Napster.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Napster.com </a><li><a href=http://www.pro-music.org/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Pro-Music.org </a><li><a href=http://www.Rhapsody.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Rhapsody.com </a><li><a href=http://www.rdio.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Rdio.com </a><li><a href=http://www.vevo.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Vevo.com </a><li><a href=http://music.yahoo.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> music.Yahoo.com </a><li><a href=http://www.Zune.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> Zune.com </a><li><a href=http://www.7digital.com/ rel=nofollow target=_blank> 7digital.com </a></ul><p><div class=labelbar-h2><img alt="Book image"src=images/book40.gif> Books:</div><p><table class=box width=100%><tbody><tr><td><img src=../BOOKS/1413312055.jpg><td valign=top>The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More <br> by Stephen Fishman J.D. <br> ISBN #1413312055 NOLO; 5 edition (May 4, 2010) <p></p><td valign=top><a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1413312055/&tag=yolinux-20 rel=nofollow> <img alt=Amazon.com src=images/Amazon-BuyABook88x31.gif> </a> <br></table><p><div class=lineHR><p><div id=disqus_thread></div><script>/**
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