Copyright law is a complete minefield. In simple term in most of the European Union, most artist who died before 1946 would be eligible as PUBLIC DOMAIN recordings. That includes many great blues and jazz men and women of the 1920s and 30s. However, it doesn't seem to be as simple as just that. On youtube, many of these artist works are still blocked by GEMA. There are no comprehesive list of publc domain material. There is still such cloak and dagger when it comes to getting straight answers out of record companies. It is time we know either way whether or not certain artist and their music is free for us to use and enjoy, celebrate and introduce to a whole new generation of music lovers and musician alike.
This blog is going to document my step-by-step journey of creatng a non-profits organisation which can clearly define audio recordings that are in the public domain in the EU. I am looking to carefully document each artist the 78s (shellacks) they recorded, who is still under copyright and who is not. I will take ths dossier to well-know IP lawyers here in Hamburg. Once I recieve clearance to use the music I am hoping to the release some of this on limited run vinyl singles (7") and sell it to sponsor the next release. mp3 of all release will be made available for free. This would then lead to other local Hamburg music project and focus on building up blues men and women struggling to be heard. Eventually, I would like to have an open and frank conversation with record companies and GEMA to clarify what is rightfully protected and what lies in the public domain.
Other aspect being considered are events, workshop in blues and jazz for local musicians. Helping band to release their first EP. Database of shellack in the public domain. A historical collection of early 20s and 30s blues on shellack to then be engineered and made available for free online. The sky is the limit, I hope you can join me on this adventure :)
More to follow...
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