Artisian Radio.. is it really royalty free?

That song, there were many versions by different artists in different time periods. Maybe one version is public domain but others aren't? Was written in the swing era 1938 and most of the versions were done more than 60 years ago except for maybe Rod Stewart or Linda Ronstadt.

The song was written in 1938. So was part 15. Maybe one version is public domain but others aren't? I dont know, but there's also lyrics. Artisian is the most knowledgeable one here about it.

Back in the late 1930s several of  licensed  stations attempted a kind of boycott of ASCAP and BMI by not playing any of that music. It was reported about in the papers but evidently nothing became of it, the story faded away and the stations went on reluctantly paying the royalties, because their listers were turning the dial to hear the popular music they wanted to hear.

What is a good argument for a part 15 station to not pay royalties? I've never paid music royalties, but I cant provide a valid excuse for not doing so. In lieu of an excuse I'll say its because it's so unlikely a part 15 station be cited for the offense, it's never happened before.. not that I'm aware of.. but maybe with the college campuses at some point.

Anyway, like I said Artsian Radio was playing for a long time and I was thinking this ain't so bad to be royalty-free station.. and then I began to wonder is it really royalty free?

I'm actually licensed by SOCAN as a non-commercial radio station to play copyrighted material.  If you go to the Artisan Radio website, and look at the bottom of the initial splash page, you'll see the SOCAN logo for 2024.  They only give that out to stations who had paid their dues, so to speak.

I used to play only public domain material.  It's easier in Canada than in the U.S., at least for some programming.  Particularly early jazz and popular music.

Here in Canada, any sound performance(i.e., record) released commercially prior to and including 1964 is in the public domain.  The rules changed in 2015 to extend performance sound rights to 75 years (from 50 years) and 100 years for unreleased recordings.

Music up until 2022 was copyrighted for life + 50 years for all creators.  So, if all the music creators passed away prior to 1972, the music is in the public domain.  Creators include the composers, lyricists, etc.  Arrangers are not generally included there, as they're considered part of the sound performance.  In 2022, the copyright term was extended to life + 75 years.

It's a lot more work to determine if a song's music is in the public domain, as you have to research each creator.  I did do that, however, for a number of years in the Acoustic era (prior to 1925) and I also did that for some early jazz/swing music.

In the U.S., things are at once simpler ... and more complicated.  As of 2024, all music and sound performances  prior to and including 1924 are in the public domain, courtesy of the Digital Millenium Act (music goes public domain after 100 years, everything else after 95 years).

For quite a while in the early to mid 1900's, works had to be declared to be copyrighted in a specific way, and registered.  If they were not, they automatically fell into the public domain.  That's why some films, TV series, books, etc. that you might feel would be copyrighted are not - it's all due to mistakes in declaring copyright or not registering the copyright (there are some Hitchcock films in this category).  Even music.

But generally speaking, all music created and performed after 1924 is copyrighted in the U.S.

OTR in both countries is complicated, and I'm not going to attempt to deal with that here.

But to summarize, the music Artisan Radio plays may or may not be copyrighted.  But we do have a license to play that copyrighted music.

I should also add that I obtained the SOCAN license to stream legally.

SOCAN doesn't care about BETS (our Part 15) broadcasting over-the-air.  I even had difficulty obtaining the license to stream, as there were no radio station categories for what we do.  SOCAN ended up designating Artisan Radio a non-commercial radio station.

One of the reasons I've been investigating SDR's is to potentially come up with an alternative to streaming.  As far as I can determine, if you host an SDR website, you are not responsible for obtaining licensing for any radio station that is played through it.  A somewhat gray area, I know, but still..

@richpowers I have never paid music royalties also but not just to try to avoid it or very unlikely a part 15 or Canada equivalent would get cited for it.
The licensing organizations here in Canada don't want my money. They have no category for unlicensed Broadcasting. They don't even know what part 15/or Canada's BETS or RSS-210 is. 
That is, over the air nothing is needed but streaming yes.
I checked with Socan, Resound, and another I can't think of now(maybe Artisan knows) several years ago.

BMI in the U.S. used to have a Part 15 over-the-air license.  I don't know if they still have it or not.

Ascap (and I think there's one more, the name escapes me) didn't require anything.  TiminBovey checked it out and had it in writing.

You do need to pay SoundExchange for internet streaming.  Or an aggregator (which you either have to pay, or it will insert advertising into your stream).

Just to demonstrate what a dog's breakfast copyright status on OTR is...

In Canada, non music shows would be treated much like books, with ownership tracing back to the writer.  In the case of Fibber McGee & Molly, there was one primary writer for many years at the beginning of the show - Don Quinn.  He passed away in 1967 (prior to the 1972 cutoff referenced previously for creators), so those early shows he wrote would be in the public domain in Canada.

In the U.S., things are far more complicated.  All existing OTR is younger than 95 years, so it would normally not be in the public domain.  But remember, copyright had to be announced, and registered.  Initial copyright terms were 25 years, and that term could be extended another 25 years.  When the copyright laws were changed in 1978, works that were currently under copyright, but wanted to have their term extended by the new (draconian) rules had to re-register with the Library of Congress.  One argument used for all OTR being in the public domain is that not a single OTR recording was registered for a term extension.

But who knows what would happen if a copyright issue did end up in court?

On both sides of the border, shows with songs that are copyrighted (such as the musical variety & comedy shows) are more problematic.  It could be determined that the song is just part of a public domain show, and thus in that context is considered public domain.  But it also could go the other way as well.  I've never seen any decisions made in this regard, either in Canada or in the U.S.

If Artisan Radio ever did go back to playing public domain programming, I would only use select OTR shows, such as those I mentioned.  It's better to be safe than sorry, particularly if you're streaming.