There's Treasure Everywhere!

[elfs]

Record Labels

A long time ago, Omaha and I bought a box of records — that's an analog audio format encoded onto discs of vinyl, kids! — somewhat at random, from an elderly couple at the same garage sale where we first bought Kouryou-chan's copy of Hooked on Phonics. Looking back through my LJ, I see that my first mention of it was February 11, 2003, meaning that Omaha and I bought the box in the Summer of 2002. We brought the box home, discovered that our turntable wouldn't turn, and promptly forgot about the box.

Omaha's been in a cleaning frenzy the past day or so, and we decided to tackle the box. What we found was a treasure trove. We're convinced that what we have is a DJ's personal collection of albums from the 1900's through the early 1940s. The oldest album in the collection, of those that even have dates, and most of them don't, is from 1903– 105 years ago.

Unfortunately, what we did not know when we bought the box was that someone had spilled motor oil into it. Many of the albums are damaged beyond repair. We're going to salvage what we can, and if I can fix or buy a turntable, I'll try to record and FLAC as many of them as I can. Does anyone know what the legal status of stuff like this? This is just an amazing collection, all 78 RPMs of Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, and many others that I've never even heard of.

Comments

Copyright Protection

[andreloire.livejournal.com]

If your question about "legal status" is about copyright... then from http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/expiration.htm is:

When Copyright Protection Becomes Public Domain
The data below will let you know when you can safely use a piece of art or music without permission because it is now in public domain after copyright protection expiration, or how long the copyright protection will last.

Published before 1923 - now in public domain

Published from 1923 to 1963 - When published with a copyright notice © or "Copyright [dates] by [author/owner]" - copyright protection lasts 28 years and could be renewed for an additional 67 years for a total of 95 years. If not renewed, now in public domain.
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which means for anything from 1924-early 40s, you'd have to research the copyright to be certain.

Re: Copyright Protection

[beanish.livejournal.com]

Additionally, when it comes to music recordings, copyright and public domain laws differ from state to state within America, so be certain to check with a local lawyer about this -- things from 1923 and earlier might not be in the public domain for your state.

(Why yes, the copyright laws for music are a complete mess, and they're only getting worse.)

Re: Copyright Protection

[ewhac.livejournal.com]

This doesn't sound right to me. Copyright is enabled Constitutionally, and Congress is specifically empowered legislate it. By operation of the Tenth Amendment, the States therefore don't get to muck with Copyright.