[citation needed] Generally, copyright separately protects "musical compositions" (melodies, rhythms, lyrics, etc.
[3] The most common way for a work to enter the public domain is for its copyright term to expire—this is the case for musical compositions published prior to 1 January 1930.
This resulted in great variation in laws across the country, with some jurisdictions extending perpetual protection to sound recordings.
[10] In October 2020, American humorist Tom Lehrer released his entire catalogue, dating back to the 1950s, into the public domain.
[19] Public domain musical works and recordings can be uploaded onto the Wikimedia Commons website.