The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #116015   Message #2488531
Posted By: Wolfhound person
08-Nov-08 - 01:25 PM
Thread Name: Copyright on Trad tunes
Subject: RE: Copyright on Trad tunes
Go through your list and determine how many have known composers - ask around if you're not sure. Then google the composers' names - not foolproof, but it should give you a start.
There's no problem with trad. tunes, provided you don't publish by photocopying someone else's publication - reset them yourself and you're OK. Or tunes where the composer has been dead for more than 70 years - Scott Skinner or James Hill, for instance.

If you print them out then that is publishing, technically, even if it's only 5 or 6 copies for friends. Litigious composers or relatives are rare in the trad. world, but they do exist - safest to ask permission if you're unsure, it will usually be freely given.

Good luck
Paws