Baby (Has Finally) Come Home!

Listen to Bessie Smith

Dear Rich: I'm trying to determine if a recording of a song from 1923 is in the public domain for use as background music in a film scene. The song is 'Baby Won't You Please Come Home' by Bessie Smith. It was recorded on April 11, 1923, and written by Clarence Williams. My understanding is that this recording is now in the public domain because of the Music Modernization Act of 2018.

You are correct! Both the composition (the song) and the sound recording (the record) are in the public domain. The song was written by Clarence Williams (though others have claimed songwriting credit), and published in 1919. As for the sound recording, the Music Modernization Act retroactively awarded 100 years of copyright protection to pre-1972 recordings (which would place this 1923 recording safely in the public domain).