Remixing classical music?

[timaeus222]

Weird question, but... is it legal to remix classical music and then sell it? i.e. Beethoven/Mozart into electronica/big beat or something like that. xD

Just a random thought. I heard that 70 years after the composer's death, it's legal.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I think so.

I can't imagine anyone owning the rights to all of Beethoven's music.

[Jamphibious]

I'm no expert on this stuff, but:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

See the section called "Relationship with derivative works"

When something is public domain it is free to use, that's why there are so many Shakespeare films and the like. A lot of classical music is sampled and used in modern music as well. I'm sure there are some exceptions to this though, so research into particular composers and works is probably a good idea.

[DusK]

See Trans-Siberian Orchestra for more info.

Seriously, see them, their show is epic.

[Rozovian]

Depends on how you're gonna remix it. The compositions from way back are public domain. A random recorded performance probably isn't. So you can midi rip them all you want, but you can't sample orchestral recordings unless they're waaay old. (thanks a lot, copyright mafia)

[timaeus222]

Well, looking at that Public Domain article, I got these:

"Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples include the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven, ..."

"...public domain works can be freely used for derivative works without permission."

Cool, looks like it's legal according to the artists I'm thinking of. No worries though, I've never in my life tried to sample directly from an actual song. I tend to stay away from actions like those.