How and where can I find what is in the public domain

MUSIC

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: there are apparently NO SOUND RECORDINGS available in the public domain in the US until 2067.

In fact, sound recordings are often adaptations of the original works, which means that in the UK it’s the same as for books: 70 years from the death of the composer or creator.

However, you can record your own version of a musical composition by a composer like Mozart, since the sheet music is in the public domain and you can download it for free.

There is also another way to get around this anomaly. There is a great source of freely available recordings from a company called Incompetech. Here you will find a collection of songs/music produced by American artist Kevin Macleod.

These are distributed under a Creative Commons license. The only condition of use is that you give credit if you use it, that’s not too much to ask!

BOOKS.

This is the main product that those interested in doing business with the Public Domain are looking for. The problem is that there are so many sites that offer these types of books, where do you start?

A fantastic site to visit is http://www.ebookfriendly.com. On this site, you get 25 different sites that offer free books that are all in the public domain.

There is one that offers access to millions of items from European libraries, museums and archives, while another called Librivox, specializes in audiobooks.

I quickly scanned it and it looks promising as they are always adding it. They’re also looking for volunteer readers if you feel like recording a book yourself!

MAPS

The New York Public Library has published 20,000 historical maps from the 16th to 19th centuries, primarily from the US and New York, but also from other countries for free download.

You can also digitally align them with current maps if you download their mapwarper.

Go to http://www.openglam.org for more information.

IMAGES, SOUNDS AND VIDEO

For this kind of creative work, try visiting Wikimedia Commons. It has a database of millions of such articles, all freely available.

One important thing to note is that even though the product you want is in the public domain, which means it’s free to use as you please, it doesn’t mean it’s free to download! After all, you might find an old book in a thrift store and it’s in the public domain, but you’ll still have to buy it to use it.

The same applies online: there is a website where the owner has recorded over 80 self-help books on CD, all of which are in the public domain. You can use all of these books however you want, but you have to buy the CD in order to do so.

You may have noticed that all of the above are available online, but don’t forget that you can find many creative works that are in the public domain, such as prints, books, sheet music, etc. disconnected at thrift stores, libraries, auctions, and boot sales.

Don’t just sit in front of a computer, there’s a big world out there!