· By The Vocal Market
TL;DR Anything composed before 1930 is generally public domain in the US (as of 2026, works from 1930 just entered the public domain). This includes most traditional folk, blues, classical, and gospel standards. You can cover, remix, and release these without a mechanical license. Heads up: public domain covers record arrangements of existing commercial recordings, not the composition itself. Most cover songs require a mechanical license (around $15 + per-stream royalties). Public domain songs don't. That means zero licensing paperwork, zero ongoing royalty splits to the original writer, and full ownership of your arrangement. For DJs, producers, and remix artists,...