Public domain music downloads 4 films

[rc444]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some free public domain music clips. I don't have access to Garage Band as I don't own a Mac.

There is a site called:

www.thefreesoundproject.org

However, this site mainly deals with public domain foley and sound effects, as opposed to music. Does anyone know of any free public domain depositories offering free musical clips to download?

Thanks
David

 

[SMuir]

Hi, David.

The link you provided appears to be a dead-end. Did you perhaps mean www.freesound.org/ ?

If so, you may want to re-read the "rules" section of the website. The effects and samples on the site are not "public domain", and by using them in such a way you could be running afoul with copyright law. Instead, the site promotes "creative commons" licensing. The whys and wherefores of CC licensing can get pretty complicated, but in a nutshell CC licenses allow non-commercial or attributed use of a work without sacrificing the original author's claim to ownership of material.

"Public Domain" is another matter altogether. The specifics vary from country to country, but in broad stroaks you're looking at two sepperate issues: authorship of the musical composition, and ownership of a performance or mechanical recording. Soooooo... "Die Zauberflote" composed by Mozart in 1791 is certainly in the public domain (sufficient time having passed for it to be such), however the 1997 recording of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing "Die Zauberflote" is certainly not public domain. Given the extensions that have been placed on modern copyright law, you'll have a hard time finding public domain recordings that are of sufficient technical quality to satisfy you're requirements.

So, that leaves you with a four options:

1) Acquire suitable archival material which has lapsed into public domain. Perhaps someone else on this forum can point you in the right direction for this one.

2) Hire one or more musicians for a recording session of a public domain composition. This could get pretty expensive. Just be sure to secure the rights to the music as "work for hire". If you're musically inclined, you could always play the music yourself.

3) Hire a composer as well as musician(s) to record an original piece. As before, be sure to have your contractual paperwork in order. Again, perhaps you could do some or all of that work yourself.

4) Acquire the rights to an existing musical work. This can get awfully expensive, but it doesn't have to. There are many fine independant artists with home studios who would welcome the exposure. There are also a number of companies (eg. sounddogs.com) that sell "buy-out" licenses to "production music".