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Public Domain Karaoke Songs (in CDG format)

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fishbox

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Hey guys,

Does anyone know of a website where I can download a few cd+g/mp3 karaoke files to use as demo songs for my software I'm developing? I know there's a lot of midi files for it but haven't found any in cdg format. I don't care if it's "Twinkle twinkle, Little Star" as long as I'm not violating copyright or trademark or whatever.

Thanks in advance!
 
While some songs such as Twinkle Twinkle are in public domain the manufatures of CDG still hold at a minimum Trademark rights to the lyric swipes and logos.....

If you want to use public domain music it is best that you record and produce your own..... and create your own lyric swipes.

Of course I'm no lawyer so it's best that you research any song you think you might want to use and check it's IP status as being useable or not.
 
Yeah! I could grab a public domain .mid and make my own cd+g/mp3. I just thought someone may have been nice enough to do a few of those songs and say, "yeah, go ahead and use it".

So next question is: what cdg creater software is the best to use in you all's opinion?
 
As far as downloads are concerned, even if the music is public domain, the lyrics sweep (graphics) require a sync license that is not yet available in the U.S.

Buy A Disc. For instance, Chartbuster's CBSP4 includes Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, B-I-N-G-O, and Wheels On The Bus.

Legends LIC100 includes Old MacDonald, I've Been Working On The Railroad, America The Beautiful, Jingle Bells, Auld Lang Syne, etc....
 
JoeChartreuse said:
As far as downloads are concerned, even if the music is public domain, the lyrics sweep (graphics) require a sync license that is not yet available in the U.S.

Buy A Disc. For instance, Chartbuster's CBSP4 includes Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, B-I-N-G-O, and Wheels On The Bus.

Legends LIC100 includes Old MacDonald, I've Been Working On The Railroad, America The Beautiful, Jingle Bells, Auld Lang Syne, etc....
Click to expand...

Joe you missed what he wants to do.... he wants, if I understand correctly, to be able to include a demo track with his karaoke software to be downloaded at the same time... similar to Windows including those crappy muic files that are included with windows installations.... this way his program can be demo'd immediately by those that have neither already ripped their library or do not have any discs to rip.

Also I'm not so sure a sync license is necessary for public domain music... since there is no rights holder, hence the work being defined as public domain. Certainly if he takes and uses a Chartbuster version he'd be in violation of their Trademark rights, but if he got a bunch of musicians together and recorded said piece then put his own words to it.... I don't see the harm.

I'm not an IP lawyer but, without a rights holder to the song who would the sync license pay? That would be like having to pay a fee to post your home video's where you've put captions on them.
 
There's no karaoke in CDG format in the public domain unless the authors and publishers have specifically donated it to the public domain. Thanks to Sonny Bono, Orrin Hatch, and the corporate enemies of the creative commons, the earliest you'll see US created CDG format enter the public domain is about 2188. That's assuming the laws aren't changed again before then and that the US still exists.
 
Here is an idea:

Contact a few karaoke manufactures marketing people and ask them if they would be willing to grant you rights to use a few songs as demo's (of their choosing) in return for ad space on your website and promotional inserts in your packaging.

Win/Win
 
Bazza said:
Here is an idea:

Contact a few karaoke manufactures marketing people and ask them if they would be willing to grant you rights to use a few songs as demo's (of their choosing) in return for ad space on your website and promotional inserts in your packaging.

Win/Win
Click to expand...

If Rob's understanding of his requirements is correct, this would probably be the only way it could be done legally. Using songs like Old MacDonald and Wheels On The Bus would make this easier for the mfr. Why not give Chartbuster a call?
 
Darn good idea!

Bazza said:
Here is an idea:

Contact a few karaoke manufactures marketing people and ask them if they would be willing to grant you rights to use a few songs as demo's (of their choosing) in return for ad space on your website and promotional inserts in your packaging.

Win/Win
Click to expand...
 
Sigh.....

Even if the SONG is in the public domain, the PERFORMANCE IS NOT.

And that's the bridge you have to cross.

Any given track is comprised of multiple licenses, copyrights, and other things that make up the intellectual property and it's use.

So, you take a song in the public domain, which in the US is any work that is older than 75 years from the death of the artist. So, let's take a song that's WELL outside of this - something like 'Canon In D' by Pachabel. The minute someone PERFORMS AND RECORDS the work, the copyright in the resulting PERFORMANCE is copyrighted even though the MUSICAL WORK is in the public domain. If this were not the case then any classical musician could have his CD's pirated without recourse. BTW, that means that those CD's of classical music you're using as 'on hold' music requires a public performance license from ASCAP/BMI/SESAC.

All in all, it's generally a major pain in the you know what to get all this 'right enough' to be 100% legal.

The only way I know of is to find a musical piece in the public domain, and then record the work on your own, and create your OWN CDG file based on the original work.

Then, and on then, could you distribute the work based on the fact you own the performance copyright and the work is in the public domain. But in all honesty, if you're really into it, then you'd be better to just record the MID file as an MP3 and save the trouble. BTW, the midi files aren't a 'performance' since they're basically a computer readable version of the original music. But they 'could' be copyrighted if you're not careful.

Before you distribute though, I'd consult an IP attorney.
 
Fishbox,

A few years ago I was suckered into joining a group that had these claims of legal karaoke song sharing.

It sucked. Don't go there. I was in contact with too many authorities over it. Thank God that they saw I was just mistaken, and that I cooperated to the nth degree. No charges, etc., but a lot of embarassment.
 
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