Every year on January 1, certain new works — songs, books, movies — enter the U.S. public domain, meaning they can be freely shared, copied, adapted, and recorded… by anyone!

In 2023, I conceived and launched the Public Song Project for All Of It and WNYC. Listeners of all skill levels were invited to explore the public domain’s trove of artistic material and create new work from it.

Participants record their own original takes on work in the public domain — from straight covers to creative reimaginings, and even original compositions inspired by novels, short stories, and poetry. A few winners are selected, but all songs are added to a free-to-stream public playlist on our website. The project airs on All Of It and has been covered in the New York Times, BroadwayWorld, and Open Culture, and by Morning Edition and The Brian Lehrer Show.

The project’s judges have included Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer Shanta Thake, copyright activist Cory Doctorow, Duke University public domain expert Jennifer Jenkins, musicians Lara Downes and DJ Rekha, Joe’s Pub associate director Isabel Kim, my colleagues at WNYC’s Soundcheck, and more music industry professionals and journalists.

This year we got to showcase the PSP at Lincoln Center! The People’s Concert, part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series, featured live performances from the contest’s winners alongside special guests. We were covered in the New York Times! You can stream the whole thing here.

Also new this year: the Public Song Project has an album! We’ve released the first volume of the PSP LP on Bandcamp and our website, featuring songs from They Might Be Giants, Terre Roche, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jake Blount, and more. You can also stream the EP of winning submissions. More volumes are on the way, as well as a vinyl pressing, featuring celebrated musicians including Rhiannon Giddens, Bela Fleck, The Lemon Twigs, and Oddisee.

You can check out the 2024 project here: 

https://www.wnyc.org/story/public-song-project-2024/

And check out the 2023 project, the winners, and other entrants here: 

https://www.wnyc.org/story/public-song-project/