Copyright issues

[straycat]

I'm trying to help a researcher find suitable swing tracks for dancers that are free from copyright issues.

So far I'm not doing so well - the researcher's main criterion is that the author of a tune died over seventy years ago. Fats Waller seemed like a good candidate, given that he was such a prolific author, but I'm told that a number of songs which I'd thought were by him (E.G. All that Meat) have other people on the authoring credits.

Can anyone point me to a good source of information for this? And maybe someone who's already been down that road might be able to help out?

[lipi]

I suggest contacting Jeff Kaufman, the producer of that Chick Webb documentary that was completed a few years ago and has still only been shown, like, twice. (I'm not annoyed.)

Website:
https://thesavoykingdocumentary.com/
(Oh! Hell! You can buy DVDs now! (I can't tell whether only if you live in California or what...luckily, I do.))

If you need Jeff's email address, PM me. I think I have it somewhere.

Aside: The adding of authors to works was extremely common. Music publishers just stuck themselves on there a lot, and managers sometimes even had contracts to that effect (see for instance Ellington & Mills).

Further aside: I assume this is for the EU or the UK (may you be cursed for leaving, you fools), where the standard term is life + 70. The US has work + 70, which is probably just more of a hassle to work out. :p

Even further aside: "criterion" is singular; "criteria" are plural. I know, no one cares.

[straycat]

I suggest contacting Jeff Kaufman, the producer of that Chick Webb documentary that was completed a few years ago and has still only been shown, like, twice. (I'm not annoyed.)

Website:
https://thesavoykingdocumentary.com/
(Oh! Hell! You can buy DVDs now! (I can't tell whether only if you live in California or what...luckily, I do.))

You can get it from anywhere - I'm in the UK, and mine arrived a few months ago.

If you need Jeff's email address, PM me. I think I have it somewhere.

Thanks - I've exchanged messages with him before, so it seems like I've got it.

Aside: The adding of authors to works was extremely common. Music publishers just stuck themselves on there a lot, and managers sometimes even had contracts to that effect (see for instance Ellington & Mills).

Yeah - I assumed it was something like that. Sadly, what matters in this case is the fact that their name is on the credit - not that they actually had anything to do with writing the song. Mutter. Mutter. Mutter.

Further aside: I assume this is for the EU or the UK (may you be cursed for leaving, you fools), where the standard term is life + 70. The US has work + 70, which is probably just more of a hassle to work out. :p

Let's not get into the whole remain / leave politics thing in this forum - this is a very complicated case. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's.

We just seem to have an incredible number of ignorant gullible imbeciles in this country. Some of whom are my friends . Moving on...

Even further aside: "criterion" is singular; "criteria" are plural. I know, no one cares.

Oops. Mea culpa. Fixed.