Tunes published in 1930 will be entering public domain in 2026

 As of January 1, 2026, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1930, including the following songs:

Beyond the Blue Horizon

Body and Soul

But Not for Me

Dancing on the Ceiling

Embraceable You

Exactly Like You

Fine and Dandy

Georgia on My Mind

Get Happy

I Got Rhythm

I'm Confessin' That I Love You (music 1929, new lyrics and title !930)

Just a Gigolo (music and German lyrics 1928, English lyrics possibly 1930 or 1931)

Get Happy

Love for Sale

Memories of You

Mood Indigo

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

Rockin' in Rhythm

Ten Cents a Dance

Them There Eyes

Three Little Words

Time on My Hands

Walkin' My Baby Back Home

You're Driving Me Crazy

2026 is another very good year for public domain! Some of the most significant works are "Body and Soul," "But Not for Me," "Georgia on My Mind," "I Got Rhythm," "Love for Sale," and "Mood Indigo."

This list includes mostly jazz-oriented and jazz-adjacent songs, and was selected from lists found on Wikipedia and on Jazzstandards.com. Please let me know of any errors.

Further detail on most of these songs is available on Wikipedia.

For more popular, jazz, and classical pieces entering the public domain, see the Wikipedia article 1930 in Music.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this list of copyright duration by country). For example, in Canada you can record pieces written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) John Coltrane (d. 1967), Igor Stravinsky (d. 1971), Louis Armstrong (d. 1971). Lee Morgan (d. 1972), or Kenny Dorham (d. 1972).

1n 2024, Mickey Mouse entered the public domain. Below is an excerpt from a previous post on copyright expiration, regarding the Mickey question.

 

However, if you are thinking of utilizing Mickey's image in 2024, you should consider that copyright will only expire on images from cartoons released in 1928, such as Steamboat Willie. In those early images, Micky had a somewhat different visage, with a longer, rat-like nose. He did not not yet have his white gloves or red shorts; they came later. If you want to use the white gloves or red shorts, you will have to wait a few more years.

Here's an interesting article on the subject, with an image of Mickey as submitted for copyright in 1929. It looks to me as though Mickey's nose had been altered a little by then, closer to its current look. He has his white gloves, too. The image is in black and white, so I don’t know about the red shorts. 

By the way, Minnie Mouse also appears in the 1928 cartoons, though I don't think she is credited by name.

In addition to copyrighting Mickey, The Walt Disney Company has also registered him as a trademark. US trademarks can be renewed every 10 years, potentially going on forever. Disney has a strong case for Mickey as a trademark, but less so for many of their other characters, who will be falling out of copyright in the next few years. Here is an article from the Western New England Law Review that covers in depth the legal standing of Mickey and other Disney characters.

 

Here's an article on the evolution of Mickey's image through the years. Anything through 1930 should be fair game. 

This 1928 image from an advertising poster would seem to indicate that the red shorts are PD now, but better do your own legal research:

More links:

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

2022 NYT article on Mickey copyright

Tunes published in 1929 will be entering public domain in 2025

As of January 1, 2025, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1929, including the following songs:

Ain't Misbehavin'
Am I Blue

Black and Blue

Blue Turning Grey Over You

Can't We Be Friends

Deep Night

Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You

Green Eyes (music and Spanish lyrics only)

Honeysuckle Rose

How Am I To Know

I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan

I May Be Wrong

I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling

Just You, Just Me

Liza

Louise

Mean To Me

More Than You Know

Rockin' Chair

Singin' in the Rain

Star Dust (music already PD, now 1929 lyrics by Mitchell Parish are available)

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

Waiting for a Train (Jimmie Rodgers)

What Is This Thing Called Love

Why Was I Born

With A Song In My Heart

Without A Song

You Do Something To Me

Yours Is My Heart Alone (music and German lyrics only)

2025 is a good year for public domain! We are now moving into years with some higher-quality "Golden Age" jazz standards.

This list includes mostly jazz-oriented and jazz-adjacent songs, and was selected from lists found on Wikipedia and on Jazzstandards.com. Please let me know of any errors.

Further detail on most of these songs is available on Wikipedia.

For more popular, jazz, and classical pieces entering the public domain, see the Wikipedia article 1929 in Music.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record pieces written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) John Coltrane (d. 1967), Igor Stravinsky (d. 1971), Louis Armstrong (d. 1971). Lee Morgan (d. 1972), or Kenny Dorham (d. 1972).

1n 2024, Mickey Mouse entered the public domain. Below is an excerpt from a previous post on copyright expiration, regarding the Mickey question. Note that in 2025, a more current version of Mickey is now available, with his white gloves.

However, if you are thinking of utilizing Mickey's image in 2024, you should consider that copyright will only expire on images from cartoons released in 1928, such as Steamboat Willie. In those early images, Micky had a somewhat different visage, with a longer, rat-like nose. He did not not yet have his white gloves or red shorts; they came later. If you want to use the white gloves or red shorts, you will have to wait a few more years.

Here's an interesting article on the subject, with an image of Mickey as submitted for copyright in 1929. It looks to me as though Mickey's nose had been altered a little by then, closer to its current look. He has his white gloves, too. The image is in black and white, so I don’t know about the red shorts. 

By the way, Minnie Mouse also appears in the 1928 cartoons, though I don't think she is credited by name.

In addition to copyrighting Mickey, The Walt Disney Company has also registered him as a trademark. US trademarks can be renewed every 10 years, potentially going on forever. Disney has a strong case for Mickey as a trademark, but less so for many of their other characters, who will be falling out of copyright in the next few years. Here is an article from the Western New England Law Review that covers in depth the legal standing of Mickey and other Disney characters.

More links:

2022 NYT article on Mickey copyright

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

Tunes published in 1928 will be entering public domain in 2024

 As of January 1, 2024, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1928, including the following songs:

Back in Your Own Backyard (Jolson, Rose, Dreyer)

Basin Street Blues (Williams)
The Big Rock Candy Mountain (trad., copyright 1928 by McClintock)
Crazy Rhythm (Caesar, Meyer, Kahn)

Hooray for Captain Spaulding (Kalmar) (Groucho Marx theme song)

How Long, How Long Blues (Carr)

I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby (Fields, McHugh)

I Must Have that Man (Fields, McHugh) 

I Wanna Be Loved By You (Stothart, Ruby, Kalmar) 

I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You) (Ahlert, Turk)

If I Had You (Campbell, Connelly, Shapiro)

It's Tight Like That (Whittaker, Dorsey)

Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love (Porter)

Love Me or Leave Me (Kahn, Donaldson)

Lover, Come Back to Me (Romberg, Hammerstein)

Mack the Knife (Weill, Brecht) (music and original German lyrics are PD in 2024, English translations are still under copyright)

Makin' Whoopee (Kahn, Donaldson)

The Mooche (Ellington, Mills)

Pirate Jenny (Weill, Brecht)

Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise (Romberg, Hammerstein)

Sweet Lorraine (Burwell, Parish)

Sweet Sue, Just You (Young, Harris)

West End Blues (Oliver, Williams)

What Keeps Mankind Alive? (Weill, Brecht)

When You're Smiling (Shay, Fisher, Goodwin)

You Took Advantage of Me (Rodgers, Hart)

This list includes mostly jazz-oriented and jazz-adjacent songs, and was selected from lists found on Wikipedia and on Jazzstandards.com. Some dates were uncertain; in those cases I went by the copyright dates on images of the original sheet music. Please let me know of any errors.

Further detail on most of these songs is available on Wikipedia.

Note that for the Kurt Weill songs from “Threepenny Opera,” English translations were made after 1928, and those lyrics are still under copyright. The music and original German lyrics are PD in 2024.

In classical music, notable pieces entering public domain are Bartok's String Quartet #4, Gershwin's An American in Paris, Ravel's Bolero, and Villa Lobos' Chôros No. 11, Chôros #12, and Quinteto (em forma de chôros).

For more popular, jazz, and classical pieces entering the public domain, see the Wikipedia article 1928 in Music.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record pieces written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) John Coltrane (d. 1967), Igor Stravinsky (d. 1971), Louis Armstrong (d. 1971). Lee Morgan (d. 1972), or Kenny Dorham (d. 1972).

1n 2024, Mickey Mouse will be entering the public domain. Below is an excerpt from last year's post on copyright expiration, regarding the Mickey question:

However, if you are thinking of utilizing Mickey's image in 2024, you should consider that copyright will only expire on images from cartoons released in 1928, such as Steamboat Willie. In those early images, Micky had a somewhat different visage, with a longer, rat-like nose. He did not not yet have his white gloves or red shorts; they came later. If you want to use the white gloves or red shorts, you will have to wait a few more years.

Here's an interesting article on the subject, with an image of Mickey as submitted for copyright in 1929. It looks to me as though Mickey's nose had been altered a little by then, closer to its current look. He has his white gloves, too. The image is in black and white, so I don’t know about the red shorts. 

By the way, Minnie Mouse also appears in the 1928 cartoons, though I don't think she is credited by name.

In addition to copyrighting Mickey, The Walt Disney Company has also registered him as a trademark. US trademarks can be renewed every 10 years, potentially going on forever. Disney has a strong case for Mickey as a trademark, but less so for many of their other characters, who will be falling out of copyright in the next few years. Here is an article from the Western New England Law Review that covers in depth the legal standing of Mickey and other Disney characters.

More links:

2022 NYT article on Mickey copyright

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

Tunes published in 1927 will be entering public domain in 2023

As of January 1, 2023, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1927, including the following songs: 

Ain't She Sweet (Yellen, Ager)

Back in Your Own Backyard (Jolson, Rose, Dreyer)

The Best Things in Life are Free (De Sylva, Brown, Henderson)

Black and Tan Fantasy (Ellington)

Blue Skies (Berlin)

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Hammerstein, Kern)

Creole Love Call (Ellington) 

Funny Face (Gershwin, Gershwin)

Hallelujah (Robin, Gray, Youmans)

He Loves and She Loves (Gershwin, Gershwin)

High Hat (Gershwin, Gershwin)

How Long Has This Been Going On? (Gershwin, Gershwin)

I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (Mort Dixon, Harry Woods)

In a Mist (Beiderbecke)

Me and My Shadow (Dreyer, Rose, Jolson)

Mississippi Mud (Cavanaugh, Barris)

My Blue Heaven (Whiting, Donaldson)

My Heart Stood Still (Rodgers, Hart)

Ol' Man River (Hammerstein, Kern)

Russian Lullaby (Berlin)

'S Wonderful (Gershwin, Gershwin)

Strike Up the Band (Gershwin, Gershwin)

Struttin' With some Barbecue (Armstrong, Armstrong)

Thou Swell (Gershwin, Gershwin)

Why Do I Love You? (Hammerstein, Kern)

The next few years will be bringing increasing numbers of standards by Gershwin, Rodgers, and others into the public domain.

In classical music, notable pieces entering public domain are the Gershwin Preludes, Bartok's String Quartet #3, Copland's Piano Concerto, and Shostakovitch's Symphony #2. 

For more popular, jazz, and classical pieces entering the public domain, see the Wikipedia page 1927 in Music.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record pieces written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) John Coltrane (d. 1967), Igor Stravinsky (d. 1971), Louis Armstrong (d. 1971). Lee Morgan (d. 1972), or Kenny Dorham (d. 1972).

Looking ahead, Mickey Mouse will become fair game in the US in 2024, unless Congress is somehow persuaded to change the present copyright law (again). 

However, if you are thinking of utilizing Mickey's image in 2024, you should consider that copyright will only expire on images from cartoons released in 1928, such as Steamboat Willie. In those early images, Micky had a somewhat different visage, with a longer, rat-like nose. He did not not yet have his white gloves or red shorts; they came later. If you want to use the white gloves or red shorts, you will have to wait a few more years.

Here's an interesting article on the subject, with an image of Mickey as submitted for copyright in 1929. It looks to me as though Mickey's nose had been altered a little by then, closer to its current look. He has his white gloves, too. The image is in black and white, so I don’t know about the red shorts. 

By the way, Minnie Mouse also appears in the 1928 cartoons, though I don't think she is credited by name.

In addition to copyrighting Mickey, The Walt Disney Company has also registered him as a trademark. US trademarks can be renewed every 10 years, potentially going on forever. Disney has a strong case for Mickey as a trademark, but less so for many of their other characters, who will be falling out of copyright in the next few years. Here is an article from the Western New England Law Review that covers in depth the legal standing of Mickey and other Disney characters.

More links:

NYT article on Mickey copyright

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

Tunes published in 1926 will be entering public domain in 2022

As of January 1, 2022, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1926, including the following songs: 

(What Can I Say) After I Say I'm Sorry (Walter Donaldson and Abe Lyman)

Baby Face (Harry Akst)

Birth of the Blues ((Ray Henderson)

Black Bottom (Ray Henderson) - See note below

Black Bottom Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton) - See note below

Blue Room (Rodgers and Hart)

Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) - Sheet music pub. 1927, but first performed 1926

Bye Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson)

East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley)

If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) (James P. Johnson)

Mountain Greenery (Rodgers and Hart)

Muskrat Ramble (Kid Ory) - See note below

Someone to Watch Over Me (George and Ira Gershwin)

When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along) (Harry Woods) 

This year, the big ones would seem to be Birth of the Blues, Blue Room, Blue Skies, Bye Bye Blackbird, and Someone to Watch Over Me. 

In classical music, notable pieces entering public domain are Bartok's Piano Concerto #1, Copland's Piano Concerto, and Puccini's Turandot.

For more popular, jazz, and classical pieces entering the public domain, see the Wikipedia page 1926 in Music.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record pieces written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) John Coltrane (d. 1967), Igor Stravinsky (d. 1971), or Louis Armstrong (d. 1971).

Looking ahead, Mickey Mouse will become fair game in the US in 2024, unless Congress is somehow persuaded to change the present copyright law. 

Notes:

"Black Bottom" was actually a dance, not one particular song. There were several popular songs that included "Black Bottom" in the title. The first was "Original Black Bottom Dance," copyrighted in 1919 by Perry Bradford (it included instructions for the steps in the dance). Yet another song, recorded by Ma Rainey in 1927, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," provided the title for a recent stage play and film. The term "Black Bottom" referred to a neighborhood in Detroit. A short, informative history of the dance can be found here.

"Muskrat Ramble" has an interesting copyright history, detailed in its Wikipedia entry:

• Kid Ory received no royalties until 1947, when Barney Bigard took him to the offices of the company that held the copyright. At that point, the company paid him retroactive royalties, and quarterly royalties thereafter.

• In 1950, Ray Gilbert wrote lyrics to "Muskrat Ramble" without Ory's permission, and in 1951 demanded that ASCAP issue a decision entitling him to a share of royalties. In 1956 ASCAP decided in Gilbert's favor, and decreed that he was entitled to a one-third share, retroactive to 1950 - in my opinion, setting a very questionable precedent.

• In 2001 Babette Ory, Kid Ory's daughter, sued Country Joe McDonald for his use of a section of Muskrat Ramble in Country Joe's Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag (at 0:20 in the Ory link, 0:39 in the Country Joe link). The court ruled against Babette and in favor of McDonald. From Wikipedia:

This suit was dismissed due to the lateness of the filing. Since decades had already passed from the time McDonald composed his song in 1965, Ory based her suit on a new version of it recorded by McDonald in 1999. Judge Nora Manella, then of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, upheld McDonald's laches defense, noting that Ory and her father were aware of the original version of the song, with the same questionable section, for some three decades without bringing a suit. This ruling was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2005, and Ory was also ordered to pay McDonald's substantial attorneys' fees.

 

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

Tunes published in 1925 will be entering public domain in 2021

As of January 1, 2021, U.S. copyright will expire for works published in 1925, including the following songs: 

Always (Irving Berlin)

Remember (Irving Berlin)

Dinah (Harry Akst)

Sometimes I'm Happy (Vincent Youmans)

Squeeze Me (Fats Waller) (not to be confused with "Just Squeeze Me" by Duke Ellington)

Sweet Georgia Brown (Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard)

Manhattan (Rodgers and Hart - aka "I'll Take Manhattan")

Yes Sir, That's My Baby (Walter Donaldson)

Don't Bring Lulu (Billy Rose, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson)

If You Knew Susie (Buddy DeSylva)

Davenport Blues (Bix Beiderbecke)

Sweet and Lowdown (George and Ira Gershwin)

That Certain Feeling (George and Ira Gershwin)

Bye Bye Blues (Fred Hamm)

Paddlin' Madelin' Home (Harry M. Woods)

This year, the big ones would seem to be Sweet Georgia Brown, Bye Bye Blues, Manhattan, the two Berlin tunes, and the two Gershwin tunes.

In the realm of classical music, Gershwin's "Piano Concerto in F" is losing copyright protection. Other modern classical works entering the public domain are listed on the Wikipedia page 1925 in Music, including pieces by Copland, Elgar, Prokofiev, Respighi, Shostakovitch, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos, and others.

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

With the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain became 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, however, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record songs written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968) or John Coltrane (d. 1967), without paying royalties.

Last December I posted an article similar to this one, listing tunes that became public domain in 2020. I'll probably do a yearly update - unless Congress messes with copyright law again, to rescue Mickey Mouse from becoming fair game in 2024.

Notes:

Some internet sources show the copyright date for "Bye Bye Blues" as 1930. Although this is the copyright date shown on the original sheet music, the first recording (by composer Fred Hamm) was released in 1925. According to U.S. copyright law, recordings publicly released can establish the effective copyright date, the same as printed material.

Wikipedia cites 1924 as the year that Harry M. Woods wrote "Paddlin' Madelin' Home." However, this appears to be incorrect. Secondhandsongs.com shows specific dates in 1925 for both publication and for first live performance; the original sheet music also shows 1925.

Cliff Edwards, aka "Ukelele Ike," a popular entertainer in the 1920s, was the one who made "Paddlin' Madelin' Home" into a hit. Edwards had an interesting life in show biz; his Wikipedia bio is worth checking out. Among many other accomplishments, he was the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Disney's "Pinocchio," singing When You Wish Upon a Star. 

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

"Avalon" and "E Lucevan Le Stelle"

Another item from the history of music copyright violation: 

Was the song "Avalon" a ripoff of a Puccini aria?

Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry for "Vincent Rose," composer of "Whispering," "Avalon," and "Blueberry Hill":

In 1921, the estate of Giovanni Ricordi and the music publishing firm he founded, Casa Ricordi — the publisher of Puccini's operas — sued all parties associated with the song, "Avalon," claiming the melody was "lifted" from the aria "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's opera Tosca. The court found for Puccini and his publisher, and they were awarded $25,000 in damages, plus all future print royalties earned by "Avalon". The composer and his heirs, however, continued to receive performance royalties under an agreement reached with Ricordi for payment of only $1. Such royalties amounted to a very significant amount of money during the remainder of the 20th century, certainly far more than the $25,000 paid in damages to the publisher.

I think Puccini's heirs had a solid case, but you can decide for yourself. Puccini's theme is in minor, "Avalon" is pretty much the same theme, in major.

Benny Goodman got a major hit with "Avalon":

Here's Al Jolson's original version. Al wrote the words, and got a hit with his 1920 recording. The main theme starts at about 00:36:

Here's Puccini's "E lucevan le stelle." The clarinet introduces the theme at 1:10, the vocal at 2:34:

Tunes published in 1924 will be entering the public domain in 2020

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

Since the passage of the 1998 law, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain has been 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, the clock began running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

As of January 1, 2020, U.S. copyright will expire for the following works published in 1924. These songs are all on the "Top 1000" list at jazzstandards.com:

All Alone (Irving Berlin)
Everybody Loves My Baby (Spencer Williams)
Fascinatin' Rhythm (Gershwin)
How Come You Do Me Like You Do (Austin, Bergere)
I Want To Be Happy (Youmans)
I'll See You In My Dreams (Isham Jones)
It Had To Be You (Isham Jones)
The Man I Love (Gershwin)
Nobody's Sweetheart Now (Erdman, Kahn)
Oh, Lady Be Good (Gershwin)
The One I Love (Belongs To Someone Else) (Isham Jones)
Somebody Loves Me (Gershwin)
South (Moten)
Tea For Two (Youmans)
What'll I Do (Irving Berlin)
When Day Is Done (Katscher, De Sylva)

As you can see, 1924 was a very good year for George Gershwin, and not bad either for Isham Jones. We may see an increase in Gershwin tribute albums this year.

There's a nice youtube playlist for 1924 tunes here.

In the realm of classical music, Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" is losing copyright protection, also Respighi's "Pines of Rome" and Puccini's "Turandot."

And we certainly should not leave out "The Prisoner's Song" (Guy Massey), a country classic.

Last December I posted an article similar to this one, listing tunes that became public domain in 2019. This subject has the potential for a yearly update - unless Congress messes with copyright law again, to rescue Mickey Mouse from becoming fair game in 2024.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you can record songs written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968), without paying royalties.

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

Tunes published in 1923 will be entering the public domain

United States copyright law is quite restrictive as compared to many other countries. According to the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (aka "Mickey Mouse Protection Act"), works published or registered before 1978 remain under copyright for 95 years.

Since the passage of the 1998 Mickey Mouse Protection Act, the cutoff date for works entering the public domain has been 1922, with any works published in 1923 or later remaining under copyright. Beginning in 2019, the clock will start running again, with each new year bringing one more year of songs and other works into the public domain. Over the next 20 years or so, most "Golden Age" jazz standards will lose copyright protection.

As of January 1, 2019, copyright will expire for these works published in 1923:

King Porter Stomp
Who's Sorry Now
Tin Roof Blues
Yes! We Have No Bananas
The Charleston
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
I Cried for You

In 2020, these works from 1924 will become public domain:

Everybody Loves My Baby
Fascinating Rhythm
I Want to be Happy
I'll See You in my Dreams
It Had to be You
The Man I Love
Rhapsody in Blue
Somebody Loves Me
Tea for Two
Oh, Lady Be Good

Depending on your tastes, you may find some of these songs to be a bit dated. But the 1920s and 1930s were a period of rapidly increasing musical sophistication. In a few more years we will start to see some of the better tunes by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, et al.

Unless, of course, Congress comes under corporate pressure again, and passes another extension like the 1998 Mickey Mouse Protection Act.

Many other countries have shorter terms of copyright; one common formula is the life of the author plus fifty years (see this table). For example, in Canada you will be able record songs written by Wes Montgomery (d. 1968), without paying royalties.

Some articles to check out regarding copyright:

A Landslide of Classic Art is About to Enter the Public Domain (The Atlantic)

For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works will Enter the Public Domain (Smithsonian.com)

These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 (Lifehacker.com)

Copyright Law of the United States (Wikipedia)

"Theft! A History of Music" - A comic book must-read

"Theft! A History of Music" is a monumental, very cool graphic-novel presentation of music history, changing music media, borrowing, and copyright law, created by James Boyle and Jennifer Jenkins, professors of law at Duke University. In 251 pages, it covers 2000+ years of music history, from Plato to rap.

You don't want to miss this.

Click here to view online, get a free download, or purchase a hard copy.

Here's a clip from the book's web page ("fair-use"!!):

The history in this book runs from Plato to Blurred Lines and beyond. You will read about the Holy Roman Empire’s attempts to standardize religious music with the first great musical technology (notation) and the inevitable backfire of that attempt. You will read about troubadours and church composers, swapping tunes (and remarkably profane lyrics), changing both religion and music in the process. You will see diatribes against jazz for corrupting musical culture, against rock and roll for breaching the color-line. You will learn about the lawsuits that, surprisingly, shaped rap. You will read the story of some of music’s iconoclasts—from Handel and Beethoven to Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles, the British Invasion and Public Enemy.

 To understand this history fully, one has to roam wider still—into musical technologies from notation to the sample deck, aesthetics, the incentive systems that got musicians paid, and law’s 250 year struggle to assimilate music, without destroying it in the process. Would jazz, soul or rock and roll be legal if they were reinvented today? We are not sure. Which as you will read, is profoundly worrying because today, more than ever, we need the arts.

See the video below for a lecture on the subject by co-author Jennifer Jenkins. I'd recommend that you read the comic book first, though.