UK music copyright duration: a rights-by-rights guide

UK music copyright can last for decades after a song is written, but a song rarely has one expiry date. As at August 2026, the composition, lyrics, master recording, performance, music video, broadcast, and printed edition can each have a separate term.

That matters to songwriters, composers, performers, publishers, record labels, and anyone adding music to a YouTube video, podcast, or documentary. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, UK music copyright usually runs to the end of a calendar year. First identify the right you are using, then apply its trigger date.

Finding an old song doesn’t automatically mean its recording is free to copy. The rules below separate each right and show how to calculate an expiry date.

The standard UK terms at a glance

The table gives the normal UK position. Each term ends at the close of the relevant calendar year.

Right	Usual UK term	Date used for calculation
Composition and lyrics	Life of the author plus 70 years	Death of the last surviving author
Sound recording	50 years, or 70 years after qualifying release or public availability	Making, publication, or availability
Performer’s rights	50 years, or up to 70 years after a qualifying sound-recording release	Performance or release
Music video treated as a film	70 years	Death of the last qualifying film contributor
Broadcast	50 years	Year of the broadcast
Typographical arrangement	25 years	First publication of the edition

The expiry date is normally 31 December, not the anniversary of the event. The primary text is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, while the government’s copyright duration guidance provides a plain-English summary.

How long does UK music copyright last for compositions and lyrics?

Compositions and musical works

Copyright in an original melody, harmony, arrangement, or written musical work normally lasts for the composer’s lifetime plus 70 years. The rule appears in section 12 of the 1988 Act.

For example, if a composer died on 14 February 1956, copyright expires at the end of 2026. The composition can generally be used in the UK from 1 January 2027, provided no separate right still applies.

When several people jointly create a musical work, calculate the term using the death year of the last surviving author. An unknown author’s work usually receives 70 years from the end of the year it was made, or from the year it was first made available to the public during that period.

Lyrics are protected separately

Lyrics are normally literary works, even when they appear only as part of a song. Their copyright usually lasts for the lyricist’s life plus 70 years.

A lyricist who died on 2 October 2000 would therefore have copyright until 31 December 2070. If the composer died earlier, the music might enter the public domain before the words. The reverse can also happen.

This distinction means a single track may contain a public-domain composition alongside protected lyrics. The government’s copyright term information covers these categories separately.

Ownership is different from duration

The first owner may not be the current owner

Copyright starts automatically when an original work is created. The creator generally owns the copyright first, but employment contracts can change that position. For example, an employer may own work created by an employee during employment, depending on the circumstances and contract.

Songwriting credits also matter. A co-writer may own a share of the composition, while a music publisher administers or owns rights under a publishing agreement. A record label may own the master recording under a recording contract, even where the performer helped finance or produce the session.

Contracts change control, not the statutory term

An assignment can transfer copyright to another person or company. A licence can give someone permission to use it while ownership stays elsewhere. Neither arrangement automatically extends the legal duration.

A publishing deal signed in 2010 doesn’t restart the 70-year clock. It changes who can approve uses or collect income. Similarly, a label’s ownership of a master doesn’t merge that recording with the underlying composition.

Before using a track, check whether you need permission for the composition, lyrics, recording, performance, or all of them. A licence from only one rights holder may leave other rights uncleared.

How long does UK music copyright last for a sound recording?

Unreleased recordings

Copyright in a sound recording is separate from copyright in the song performed on it. The usual starting rule is 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording was made.

A master recorded in 1976 and never published or made available to the public would expire on 31 December 2026. That date doesn’t make the composition, lyrics, or performers’ rights expire at the same time.

Publication can extend protection

If the recording is published during the initial 50-year period, the term can become 70 years from the end of the year in which it was first published. The same extended approach can apply when the recording is first made available by public playing or communication to the public.

For example:

• A recording made in 1976 and first published in 2000 can remain protected until 31 December 2070.
• A recording made in 1976 and first communicated to the public in 1998 can remain protected until 31 December 2068.
• A 1976 recording with no qualifying release or public availability follows the 50-year rule and expires on 31 December 2026.

The date of a streaming upload may help establish public availability, but it doesn’t settle every question about first publication. Evidence of earlier releases, private circulation, and authorised public use can matter. Unauthorised acts don’t count when applying the statutory publication tests.

The UK extended protection for qualifying sound recordings and related performers’ rights through the 2013 regulations, which took effect on 1 November 2013. The Copyright and Duration of Rights in Performances Regulations 2013 still matter when assessing older recordings.

Performers and music videos have their own clocks

Performers’ rights

A singer, instrumentalist, or other performer can have rights in the performance even when somebody else owns the sound recording. Rights in an unreleased performance generally last 50 years from the end of the year in which the performance took place.

A live performance on 10 April 1980 that was never released would normally remain protected until 31 December 2030. If a recording of that performance was released as a sound recording in 1995, the performers’ rights can last until 31 December 2065.

The term differs where a released recording isn’t a sound recording. In that situation, the applicable period is generally 50 years from release. The GOV.UK guidance on performers’ rights explains the distinction.

Music video copyright

A music video is usually assessed as a film if it meets the statutory definition. Film copyright normally lasts 70 years from the end of the year in which the last surviving qualifying contributor dies.

The relevant people can include the principal director, the screenplay author, the dialogue author, and the composer of music specially created for and used in the film. If the last of those contributors died in 2004, film copyright would normally expire on 31 December 2074.

The video can still contain separate rights in the song, lyrics, and sound recording. Clearing the film copyright alone may not give permission to reuse the music within it.

Broadcasts and sheet-music typography

Broadcasts

Copyright in a broadcast normally lasts 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was made. A television or radio broadcast transmitted in 1991 would therefore expire on 31 December 2041.

This right belongs separately to the broadcaster. It doesn’t replace the rights in the music played during the programme or the recording used by the broadcaster.

Printed editions

Copyright in the typographical arrangement of a published edition lasts 25 years from the end of the year in which that edition was first published. A sheet-music edition first published in 2001 would normally lose this layout right on 31 December 2026.

The short term protects the visual arrangement of the published edition. It doesn’t end copyright in the underlying musical work, lyrics, illustrations, or editorial content. A later edition may have its own typographical copyright.

How to check music before you use it

Start with the exact material you want to copy. A short checklist helps:

1. Identify whether you need the composition, lyrics, master recording, performance, video, or broadcast.
2. Record the relevant dates, including authors’ deaths, recording dates, first publication, release, and public transmission.
3. Find the current owner or administrator and check for an express licence.
4. Check the countries covered by the permission, especially if the project will be available worldwide.

Public-domain status is narrower than many users expect. If an old composition is free to use, a later arrangement or famous recording may still be protected. A person who records the public-domain composition themselves may create a new sound recording with its own copyright.

Streaming availability is also not a reuse licence. A current catalogue can be checked on Restorm UK, Mark Leigh on TIDAL, Mark Leigh on Deezer, Mark Leigh on Amazon Music, Mark Leigh on Spotify, and Mark Leigh on Apple Music. For creator projects, look for Free Music offered with clear usage terms, then follow any credit requirements.

International use can change the result

UK music copyright rules apply to the UK, but online projects often reach viewers in many countries. Each territory can apply its own term rules, exceptions, and treatment of older recordings.

The UK and many European countries use life plus 70 years for musical and literary works, but sound recordings, broadcasts, and performers’ rights can follow different national rules. The United States also has important publication-based and recording-specific rules.

A song that is public domain in Britain may still be protected elsewhere. YouTube, social networks, and other platforms may also apply territory-specific claims or licensing arrangements. If your release is worldwide, obtain permission that covers the countries where people can access it.

Conclusion

UK music copyright doesn’t have one universal expiry date. The composition and lyrics usually last for the author’s life plus 70 years, while recordings, performances, videos, broadcasts, and printed layouts follow separate clocks.

The safest calculation starts by identifying the exact right involved and the event that sets its term. A public-domain song can still sit inside a protected recording or arrangement, so age alone isn’t enough.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For complex ownership histories, older recordings, joint authorship, or international releases, check the position with a UK copyright solicitor or relevant rights organisation before publishing or licensing the music.