On January 1, 2026, "Georgia on My Mind" entered the public domain. Hoagy Carmichael wrote it in 1930. The copyright lasted 95 years. So, how long does copyright last for music? The answer depends on three things: when the song was made, who made it, and what kind of work it is.
This guide breaks down the rules — it explains what music copyright length means for how long your music keeps earning. The short version: a copyright on a song written today can outlast every car you'll ever drive, every house you'll ever own, and most of the companies on the S&P 500.
How Long Does Copyright Last for Music? The Basic Rules
For music written today, U.S. law sets a clear floor. Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.
Joint works follow the same rule. The clock starts at the death of the last surviving co-writer, plus 70 more years. So if a song has three writers, and the last one dies in 2090, the copyright runs through 2160.
Works made for hire follow a different clock. So do anonymous and pseudonymous songs. For these, the copyright lasts 95 years from first publication, or 120 years from creation. Whichever ends sooner.
What counts as a work for hire? Music written for a film score under a studio contract. Jingles cut for an ad agency. Songs created by a staff writer for a publisher. These pay royalties just like any other song. They just expire on a different clock.
These rules apply to everything created on or after January 1, 1978. That date marks the line between modern copyright law and the older system. The Copyright Act of 1976 came into force on that day, and it rewired how the game works. To dig deeper into how copyrights actually generate income, see our guide on understanding copyrights in music royalties.
Music Copyright Length Before 1978
Different rules apply for songs created before 1978. The 1909 Copyright Act ran the show.
Under the older system, the copyright clock started when a work was published or registered. The first term lasted 28 years. The owner could renew for another 28 years. Total possible run: 56 years.
But Congress kept extending the timeline. The 1976 Copyright Act lengthened the renewal period, and then the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act added another 20 years on top of that.
Today, pre-1978 works that kept their copyright current get a full 95 years from first publication.
The structure is now:
- A first term of 28 years
- A renewal term of 67 years
- Total: 95 years from publication
What's Entering the Public Domain Now?
Each January 1, another year of work enters the public domain. As of January 1, 2026, every U.S. work published before 1931 is now public domain.
That includes "Georgia on My Mind," "I Got Rhythm," and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" — along with hundreds of jazz standards, show tunes, and folk songs, all now free for anyone to use, share, or build upon. Next up are works published in 1931, which enter the public domain on January 1, 2027, followed by works published in 1932, which enter the public domain on January 1, 2028. The line moves forward by one year every year.
This matters more than it sounds. A film studio scoring a period drama can now use 1930 Gershwin without paying a publisher. A new artist can record their own version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with no licensing fee. The composition is fair game.
Sound recordings follow their own clock. More on that in a moment.
How Long Do Music Royalties Last?
Royalties last as long as the copyright is active and the music is being used. That's the link between law and cash. So when people ask how long copyright lasts for music, what they're really asking is how long the music will keep paying.
This is why music copyrights are generational assets. A song written today could earn for over a century. Long enough to fund three generations of heirs.
Copyright Duration vs. Royalty Duration
Two timelines matter, and they are different:
- Copyright duration: the legal life of the protection. Set by statute. A hard ceiling.
- Royalty duration: the actual length of time the song generates income. This depends on whether people keep listening.
A song can hold a valid copyright and earn almost nothing. A bigger hit can keep paying for 50 years and still be inside its first 70-year window. Songwriters get royalties for as long as their copyright is active and the music is being played. The income doesn't stop when the songwriter dies. It passes to heirs.
Look at John Lennon. He died in 1980. His estate still collects between $12 million and $15 million in music royalties every year. The copyright on his songs runs through 2050 at the earliest. His grandchildren will likely inherit a working catalog before the rights even expire.
This is one reason investors, estates, and family offices have turned to music royalties. The income stream can outlast the people who built it.
For a fuller picture of how royalties get collected and paid, see our intro to music royalties.
What Happens When a Music Copyright Expires?
When a music copyright expires, the work enters the public domain. Anyone can use it. No payment. No permission. No royalties owed.
That's the rule for the underlying composition. Sound recordings work on their own system.
Federal copyright didn't cover any recordings made before February 15, 1972. State laws handled them in a patchwork of conflicting rules. That gap caused decades of confusion over who owned what, and who owed what to whom.
The Music Modernization Act, signed into law in 2018, fixed that. It brought pre-1972 sound recordings under federal copyright. But with a twist: a phased schedule for when older recordings enter the public domain.
When Do Sound Recordings Enter the Public Domain?
The schedule works like this:
- Recordings made before 1923: Entered the public domain on January 1, 2022
- Recordings from 1923 to 1946: Enter the public domain 100 years from publication
- Recordings from 1947 to 1956: Enter the public domain 110 years from publication
- Recordings from 1957 through February 14, 1972: Remain protected through February 15, 2067
As of January 1, 2026, sound recordings from 1925 are now public domain. That includes early jazz cuts and blues 78s that have been hard to license for decades. Recordings from 1957, on the other hand, stay locked up for another 41 years.
Modern sound recordings get the same treatment as compositions. The clock runs for 95 years from first publication, or 120 years from creation. Whichever ends sooner.
One detail trips people up. The composition and the recording are two different copyrights. A song's composition might be in the public domain while a specific recording of it is still protected. The song "Georgia on My Mind" is now free to use. Ray Charles's 1960 recording of it isn’t.
Copyright Reclamation: How Songwriters Can Get Their Rights Back
Here's a part of copyright law most people don't know. U.S. law lets songwriters reclaim rights they've signed away.
After 35 years, a creator can take back rights they assigned to a publisher or label. For copyrights granted before 1978, the window is 56 years.
This applies even when the original contract says it can't. Federal law overrides those contract terms. A publishing deal signed in 1990 that promises rights "in perpetuity" still falls under the 35-year rule. The right to reclaim doesn’t apply to works made for hire.
Some details matter. Reclamation only covers U.S. rights. International rights stay with whoever holds them, and foreign royalties keep flowing to the assignee. In other words, reclamation gives a songwriter back a piece of the pie, not the whole thing.
Rules and Deadlines for Reclamation
To use the right, songwriters or their estates have to follow these rules:
- File for reclamation inside a five-year window after the 35-year mark.
- Notify the current rights holder at least two years before the effective date.
Miss the window, and the right disappears. Done correctly, the rights come home and from there, songwriters can renegotiate the deal. They can sell those U.S. rights at full market value or hold them and collect directly.
This rule has reshaped some of the biggest catalogs in music history. Paul McCartney used it to recapture U.S. publishing rights to early Beatles songs starting in 2018. The list of songwriters who have either filed or are eligible to file runs into the thousands.
For more on the legal mechanics behind these rules, see our guide on the legal aspects of music royalties.
What Copyright Duration Means for Your Catalog
A copyright that lasts a lifetime plus 70 years means your music can earn for generations. Not as a metaphor. Actually.
That fact changes how to think about a catalog. It's not a quick payday. It's not a one-time hit. It's a long-dated income stream with the legal teeth to back it up.
How long copyright lasts for music shapes every decision you make about your catalog. Whether you're collecting royalties, raising money against future income, or planning what happens when you're gone. Each path comes with its own questions:
- Collecting: Are you registered with the right collection groups? Are your splits filed correctly? Wrong metadata is the top reason royalty income gets lost.
- Selling a portion: A catalog that pays for 70+ years has real present value. Selling a slice can fund a house, a business, or retirement, while keeping a stake.
- Estate planning: A copyright that outlives you needs a plan. Without one, heirs can lose income or fight each other for years.
For more on protecting royalty income across generations, see our guide on music royalties and estate planning.
Royalty Exchange offers a way to raise money from your future royalties, on your terms. No giving up the catalog forever. No long-term lock-in. Just a market price for a slice of what your music will earn. The copyright clock keeps running either way. The only question is who gets paid while it does.
Learn more about how music royalties work
