Music is considered to be in the public domain if it meets any of the following criteria:
In the U.S., any musical works published before 1922, in addition to those voluntarily placed in public domain, exist in the public domain. In most other countries, music generally enters the public domain in a period of fifty to seventy-five years after the artists' death. (Public domain rights must be verified for each individual country.) It is important to note the distinction between "musical works" (sheet music and other compositions) and "sound recordings" (audio files, CDs, records), as virtually all sound recordings will not fall into public domain until 2067, unless explicitly placed into the public domain by its creators or made by an employee or officer of the United States Government acting under their official duty.
If a piece of music does not fall within public domain and is under copyright, then it is unlawful to:
Note that under compulsory license laws, some of these actions may in fact be lawful, but the infringing party would then be liable for any royalty the copyright holder may charge for the use of their work.
For more information on general public domain, see Public Domain.
Copyrights
For music the involved rights are: