A music composition in the public domain is one that is unprotected by copyright because its copyright has expired. As a brief overview of copyright duration under U.S.
How Royalties Are Determined for New Material Written for Public Domain Music Compositions
Not as much public domain material is recorded in comparison with original material, but if such a song becomes a hit or is on a successful album, the public performance royalties can be substantial provided the writer/arranger (who is many times the recording artist or record producer) holds the copyright in his or her version and registered it with the performance right society (PRO) with which the writer is affiliated.
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