![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/george_ira_gershwin.jpg\")
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A range of compositions from 1930 are about to enter the US public domain \u2013 including \u2018Georgia On My Mind\u2019 and \u2018Dream A Little Dream Of Me\u2019.<\/p>\n
In the US, copyright terms expire at the end of a calendar year, and under current rules, musical compositions are only protected for 95 years after their publication. That means that from January 1, 2026, anything first published in 1930 will be free to use.<\/p>\n
The law dictates that anyone is allowed to perform or record new versions of the songs in question, or interpolate, adapt or quote their melody and lyrics in the US.<\/p>\n
Among the songs entering the public domain are \u2018Georgia\u00a0On\u00a0My Mind\u2019,\u00a0with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Stuart Gorrell.\u00a0The most classic version of the track was recorded by\u00a0Ray Charles<\/a> in 1960 and was later declared the official state song of Georgia, picking up\u00a0two Grammy Hall\u00a0of\u00a0Fame inductions along the way.<\/p>\n\n Also available is \u2018Dream A Little Dream\u00a0Of\u00a0Me\u2019,\u00a0composed by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, with lyrics by Gus Kahn. First recorded by Ozzie Nelson in 1931, it is best remembered for a version by\u00a0Mama Cass Elliot<\/a>\u00a0in 1968, and has also been covered by Henry Mancini,\u00a0Ella Fitzgerald<\/a>,\u00a0Erasure<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Beautiful South<\/a>.<\/p>\n George and Ira Gershwin\u2019s \u2018I Got Rhythm\u2019 and the English language version of \u2018Just A Gigolo\u2019 are also becoming free to use.<\/p>\n The same laws apply to works from other art forms, including films and novels, meaning titles such as the Oscar-winning\u00a0All Quiet\u00a0On\u00a0The\u00a0Western Front<\/i>, William Faulkner\u2019s\u00a0As\u00a0I Lay Dying\u00a0<\/i>and the characters Pluto and\u00a0Betty Boop\u00a0also enter the public domain on New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Last year,\u00a01929 properties became eligible<\/a>, including \u2018Singin\u2019 In The Rain\u2019 and \u2018Ain\u2019t Misbehavin\u2019, as well as Popeye and TinTin, while the previous year<\/a> it covered \u2018Mack The Knife\u2019 and \u2018Let\u2019s Do It (Let\u2019s Fall In Love)\u2019.<\/p>\n The entry into public domain has led to some unconventional uses of familiar properties in recent years, including\u00a0the Winnie\u00a0The\u00a0Pooh horror film\u00a0Blood\u00a0And\u00a0Honey\u00a0<\/i>in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post \u2018Georgia On My Mind\u2019 and \u2018Dream A Little Dream Of Me\u2019 among songs entering US public domain<\/a> appeared first on NME<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A range of compositions from 1930 are about to enter the US public domain \u2013 including \u2018Georgia On My Mind\u2019 and \u2018Dream A Little Dream Of Me\u2019. In the US, copyright terms expire at the end of a calendar year, and under current rules, musical compositions are only protected for 95 years after their publication. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-art"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-25 14:46:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}