Melody of Russians by Sting

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DJ Bombay mixer

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« on: May 11, 2016, 12:14:39 AM »
Can anybody tell me if I can use Prokofiev's Romance melody as Sting did in Russians without permission from Prokofiev's estate (if there is one) or  having to pay royalties. In other words is it now in the public domain and free for me to use as the melody for a song I've written. thanks in advance.

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2016, 12:55:02 AM »
If you're referring to the love theme from Romeo and Juliet, it is most likely still under copyright. I think it's from the 1930s? But someone else might know for sure. In the United States, anything written in 1923 or later is under copyright unless someone deliberately placed it in the public domain.

Okay, I did a search. Looks like, if it's the one I mentioned above, it's under copyright some places (like the U.S. and E.U., and it's not under copyright in some other places (such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea). And it might depend on what you're using for your source for the melody. Copyright can get complicated. When using public domain material, I try to make sure I have an out-of-copyright copy of the music for reference.

Some songs (for example, "Scarborough Fair") are public domain, but many versions of them are not (like the one made popular by Simon and Garfunkel). So, it can get tricky. Keeps the copyright attorneys making a living.

This may or may not be helpful.... ::)  :P

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2016, 01:00:07 AM »
Uff da! I thought the forum was all messed up. I kept seeing the same unread message three times. Then I figured out you posted it three times on different boards. I don't know how other people feel, but I prefer that people only post an item once. I'm easily confused....

hardtwistmusic

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« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2016, 07:12:50 PM »
If you're referring to the love theme from Romeo and Juliet, it is most likely still under copyright. I think it's from the 1930s? But someone else might know for sure. In the United States, anything written in 1923 or later is under copyright unless someone deliberately placed it in the public domain.

Okay, I did a search. Looks like, if it's the one I mentioned above, it's under copyright some places (like the U.S. and E.U., and it's not under copyright in some other places (such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea). And it might depend on what you're using for your source for the melody. Copyright can get complicated. When using public domain material, I try to make sure I have an out-of-copyright copy of the music for reference.

Some songs (for example, "Scarborough Fair") are public domain, but many versions of them are not (like the one made popular by Simon and Garfunkel). So, it can get tricky. Keeps the copyright attorneys making a living.

This may or may not be helpful.... ::)  :P

Couple of things....   Your info conflicts with some research I did.  Not sure which is so, but (as I understand it) for music copyrighted before 1923, the copyright expires UNLESS THE ARTIST HOLDING THE COPYRIGHT extended it in 1963. 

So, (as you said) some of the music after 1923 is still under copyright, and some is not. 

Second thing.... How did you find out whether the song was copyrighted?  I've tried unsuccessfully to do that. 
www.reverbnation.com/hardtwistmusicsongwriter

Verlon Gates  -  60 plus years old.

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2016, 07:36:24 PM »
Couple of things....   Your info conflicts with some research I did.  Not sure which is so, but (as I understand it) for music copyrighted before 1923, the copyright expires UNLESS THE ARTIST HOLDING THE COPYRIGHT extended it in 1963. 

Ahhhhhh, that may explain why I occasionally find a song from earlier than 1923 that is under copyright. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. I was confused. I had never heard about the 1963 renewal option.

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Second thing.... How did you find out whether the song was copyrighted?  I've tried unsuccessfully to do that. 

Well, I thought I read it in one of the hits when I was looking to answer the post, but I may have gotten confused with the song "A Time for Us" from the movie. I did find a site that indicated it is probably under copyright, but that one did not say for sure (http://imslp.org/wiki/10_Pieces_from_Romeo_and_Juliet,_Op.75_(Prokofiev,_Sergey).

So I could be wrong about that one. Thanks for checking! I need to be more careful.

Vicki