Re: [microsound] [ot] copyrights of compositions

[mik <prims@xxxxxx>]

a certain "e.g" <glere@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I know it's not the right place to ask this, but I don't know where to 
> find the info and you are the nearest and most reacheable people I know :)
> 
> 1. suppose that I want to play live (or to use in a video) some music 
> composed by some living classical composer (in my case is Arvo Part). 
> Should I contact the composer asking permission to play his music?
> 
> 2. I remeber that with "old" music (i.e. bach, mozart, etc) the 
> composition itself has no copyright, right? Is there a time from which 
> the music composed previous to that time is free of copyright? (for 
> example the music composed previous of 1903 is free of copyright?)
> 
> 
 
1. Since Arvo Part is a member of a copyright society (GEMA), you should contact your local copyright society, which in your case is SIAE (http://www.siae.it/index.asp)(most copyright societies collaborate and defend the interests of each other's members in their respective territories). 
2. In Europe a piece of music is protected until seventy years after the death of the longest living author. Therefore most music of which the composers died before 1933 is now in the public domain. An exception to the rule is music published posthumously, which is protected until fifty years after the date of publication.

mik

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