All sound recordings before 1923 in 2022 will be recognized in the US public domain, which will allow you to use and distribute them without restrictions. The list includes Broadway hits, early jazz tunes, and more.

These sound recordings can be recognized in the public domain under the Music Modernization Act (MMA) passed by Congress in 2018. As noted by the US Public Domain Foundation, prior to this act, these records were supposed to become public only in 2067. The fact is that until the 1970s, sound recordings were not subject to federal law, which limited the duration of copyright to 95 years. Rather, their use was regulated by a disorderly mixture of state, country, and city laws. The Foundation notes that, in accordance with many local laws, title to the recordings did not expire at all.

The Recordings Act 1971 and the Copyright Act 1976 corrected this situation for recordings made after February 14, 1972. years, but older music and other works were still not regulated by federal law. MMA changed the situation. The Foundation emphasizes that in 2022 all sound recordings up to 1923 will enter the US public domain, recordings from 1923 will be included in 2023, recordings from 1924 in 2024, and so on until 2046

The Foundation recalls that the period from the earliest recordings of the 1860s to 1922 includes a rich and varied playlist: vaudeville, Broadway hits, ragtime and the first jazz tunes. All works prior to 1923 are on display in the Foundation's own audio collection, the Internet Archive, and the National Jukebox of the Library of Congress.

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