Non-copyright music is music whose legal copyright has expired or has been allowed to lapse by the musician or rights owner on purpose. In most cases, any other artist who wants to use music for a video production must first obtain permission from the party who owns the copyright to the music. This frequently entails reimbursing the user, which can be a costly and time-consuming process. Non-copyright music is available without a usage fee, making it more convenient for such secondary uses.
All music is protected by copyright from the moment it is created, according to the United States’ Copyright Act of 1976 and international agreements such as the Berne Convention. The copyrights to most popular songs are owned by recording companies, not musicians, due to the economics of the music industry. Anyone wishing to use a song must first obtain permission from the rights holder, which often includes a fee. These fees can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars (or the equivalent in another currency) for very popular songs. Even relatively obscure music can be prohibitively expensive for struggling artists such as aspiring filmmakers.
For some artists, the solution is to use music that has lost its copyright. Most copyright laws stipulate that the copyright expires 75 to 100 years after the artist or musician’s death. It becomes part of the public domain after this period. If the rights holder fails to register or maintain the copyright, some music may enter the public domain sooner. Even if the copyright on the music has long since expired, a symphony performance of a Beethoven composition may be owned by the company that released the recording.
Some companies hire musicians to create music specifically for the purpose of producing non-copyright music. They allow the copyright to lapse on purpose in order to avoid paying royalties or usage fees. Schools, aspiring artists, and others who don’t have enough money to buy copyrighted music can use this non-copyright music for a one-time fee, which is often just the cost of a CD or download. While this music may be generic or otherwise unremarkable, it is ideal for background music or the like, and it protects the user from copyright issues. Non-copyright music is sometimes referred to as royalty-free, or stock, music, after the stock images used in the printing and publishing industries.