Musical Compositions from 1925Sadly, not all media from 1925 will be entering the public domain this year in the United States. Under the Music Modernization Act, musical recordings published in 1925 will not enter the public domain until 2026. However, all musical compositions published in 1925 will enter the public domain in 2021.
Just like with literature and film, music in the 1920s displayed a bright and energetic liveliness, exemplified through the contributions of Black jazz musicians of the time. Jazz standards, musicals, and classical compositions alike were experimenting with new sounds in 1925.
The Center for the Study of the Public Domain includes this excellent text in its guide for 2021, which bears repeating:
"We have featured some influential Black artists on this list because they deserve particular recognition. While it is worth celebrating the entry of their works into the public domain, it is also necessary to realize that not all artists were able to benefit from the copyright system during the copyright term. It would be impossible to overstate the contribution of Black musicians to American music. Yet these artists were routinely excluded from the copyright system, either because of racist business-practices, legal formalities that disproportionately affected minority musicians, or unequal access to the tools of the law themselves. Many never received credit or compensation for their songs."
Links to information about 1925 in music are provided below. Rather than attempting to compile all the "best and most notable music" from this time period, we instead ask that you explore it for yourself and find the music that speaks to you!
"Music" icon is from Vectorstall via The Noun Project, licensed CC BY 4.0.
