Can I use a classical song for a movie?

Question

So I was trying to figure out a way to use music in a movie I'm making with out paying tons of money, and one of my friends thought that I could use some classical music like Mozart and what not because they songs pre-date copyright laws, is this true?

Answer 1

It is called public domain. All music falls into public domain after a period of time. The laws specify the period of time, they do not grant "permanent" copyright to anyone. Most governments allow copyright to extend to 50 years after the death of the composer, the USA and EU countries observe a 70 year period. all rules have exceptions, but Mozart is long dead and his works are considered PD in his home country (Germany) which is the guide used by the WTO governing commercial use in other countries. However this does not allow you to take a CD recording of his music and use in a movie. That is because the recording company has a claim on the recording of the music. Both the composition and the recording have to be PD to be used rights free. Here is a website that has what you want. http://www.Music4TVandFilms.com

Answer 2

I did a quick search and found the following. I think you're good, man. :)


"Copyrights do not last forever, but they do last a pretty long time. Under the current laws, copyright protection starts from the moment of creation of the work and continues until 70 years after the death of the author or artist. That means that if someone who is 15 in the year 2001 writes a story that year and dies when he is 85 in the year 2086, the copyright will not expire until 70 years after 2086 -- in the year 2156, which is 130 years away. When the term of a copyright expires (meaning it's finished), the work falls into what's called the "public domain." When a work is in the public domain anyone can copy it and use it without permission. This is why you can copy artists like Leonardo da VInci and writers like Shakespeare and music writers like Mozart all you want. In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors, the term of copyright lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation (whichever is shorter). Works created when prior copyright laws were in effect had shorter terms. Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was publicly distributed or on the date of registration (if the work was not publicly distributed). In either case, the copyright lasted for a first term of 28 years. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal for another 28 years by filing with the Copyright Office. The terms of many earlier copyrights were extended by later laws, and you cannot assume that any work is in the public domain unless it was first published before 1923."

Answer 3

Yes and no.

The music is public domain. But the performance might be copyrighted. Unless you're hiring people to play the music, you can't use it in your movie without permission. 8^<

Answer 4

the music is Claire de Lune, via Claude Debussy it is a brilliant deal, cuz in the e book, edward takes bella abode after 'blood typing' (it somewhat is a few thing they skipped in the action picture) and Bella would not like being dealt with, of direction, so he has to kinda stress her, so as that they are utilising and he or she's mad at him, yet she acknowledges the music, bcuz her mom performed classical music around the abode plenty, and Claire de Lune is a million of her favs

Answer 5

Yes, it's public domain.