Public Domain Classical Recordings and Scores

Classical music has an unusually large public-domain library available, since most compositions from before the 20th century are no longer under copyright almost anywhere in the world. That said, "the piece is old" doesn't automatically mean "every specific recording or edition of it is free to use" — the composition and any particular performance or typeset edition of it are legally separate things, each with rights that have to be checked on their own.

Where to look

• IMSLP (the International Music Score Library Project, also known as the Petrucci Music Library) hosts an enormous collection of public-domain sheet music and scores.
• Musopen focuses specifically on public-domain and openly licensed recordings, along with some sheet music, recorded or curated with reuse in mind.
• Archive.org (the Internet Archive) hosts a huge range of audio, including many older public-domain recordings, alongside a great deal of material that isn't public domain at all.

How to actually check rights

Before using anything from any of these sources, verify the specific item — not just the platform or the underlying composition:

1. The composition itself. A piece by Bach or Beethoven is long out of copyright everywhere. A piece by a composer who died more recently (or a living composer) may not be, regardless of the platform hosting it.
2. The specific edition or typeset score. A modern engraver's edition of an old piece can carry its own separate copyright on the typesetting and editorial choices, even though the underlying music is public domain.
3. The specific recorded performance. A public-domain composition performed and recorded recently is typically still protected by the performers' and recording company's own rights, distinct from the composition itself — this is the single most common mix-up.
4. The platform's own listed license. Reputable sources will state the rights status of each individual item directly; if that information isn't clearly stated, treat the item as unverified rather than assuming it's free to use.

This is the same logic worth applying to any public-domain media research generally: check the specific item, every time, rather than extending one item's rights status to an entire collection.