10-26-2020, 05:40 PM
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/10/21/s...ic-domain/
Songwriter Tom Lehrer became a star in the 1950s and ’60s writing and performing satirical songs that skewered just about everything. Since then, his work has appeared on stages in London and New York, been translated into Spanish and Swedish and even sampled on a rap track.
Lehrer, 92, announced Tuesday via his website that he’s effectively putting everything he ever wrote into the public domain. That means his lyrics and sheet music are available for anyone to use or perform, without having to pay royalties or deal with lawyers.
Lehrer’s songs took on nuclear weapons, racial injustice, pollution — and the Nazi engineer-turned-NASA scientist Wernher von Braun.
Songwriters can earn money when websites post their lyrics, when people buy their sheet music or when other musicians cover their songs.
Nice . Judging from the statement on his website, this is just the lyrics at this stage; it seems he plans to release his own musical performances at some point in the near future, but not copyrighted performances of his music by other artists (since those aren't his to release ).
Anyway, what this means is, if you want to write an updated version of "The Elements" (with all the ones that have been discovered since 1959), and perform it and sell it... then, you can .
Songwriter Tom Lehrer became a star in the 1950s and ’60s writing and performing satirical songs that skewered just about everything. Since then, his work has appeared on stages in London and New York, been translated into Spanish and Swedish and even sampled on a rap track.
Lehrer, 92, announced Tuesday via his website that he’s effectively putting everything he ever wrote into the public domain. That means his lyrics and sheet music are available for anyone to use or perform, without having to pay royalties or deal with lawyers.
Lehrer’s songs took on nuclear weapons, racial injustice, pollution — and the Nazi engineer-turned-NASA scientist Wernher von Braun.
Songwriters can earn money when websites post their lyrics, when people buy their sheet music or when other musicians cover their songs.
Nice . Judging from the statement on his website, this is just the lyrics at this stage; it seems he plans to release his own musical performances at some point in the near future, but not copyrighted performances of his music by other artists (since those aren't his to release ).
Anyway, what this means is, if you want to write an updated version of "The Elements" (with all the ones that have been discovered since 1959), and perform it and sell it... then, you can .
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