On January 1, 2005, Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" — a 50-year-old tune currently enjoying the #3 chart spot in Great Britain — will enter the public domain.
Anyone will be able to release it without paying royalties to the owners of the master or the performer's heirs. BMG will start losing a significant piece of its catalog income in Europe. As "That's All Right" is being hailed by some as the beginning of rock 'n' roll, the implications are that every year after 2005, more recordings that defined the genre will fall into public domain.
Link
(Thanks, electrincinca)
