In Canada copyright protection of Beatles material expired after fifty years. In 2013 and 2014 Beatles' music from 1963 and 1964 entered the Public Domain. A few companies attempted to cash in on the opportunity and issued Beatles' PD material on CD and vinyl. While these companies claimed they did not need to pay royalties for the recordings they did pay small royalties for using the compositions as the compositions were still under copyright.
In Canada Stargrove Entertainment released a CD titled Love Me Do that featured eleven early Beatles tracks. The CD was sold at Walmart stores for $5 and and became a top selling CD.
Established record companies took notice and were not happy and blocked Stargroves' access to the composition rights. They also convinced the government to extend copyright from fifty to seventy five years although recordings already in the Public Domain remained there. Production of the CD ceased, however, in 2019 copies could still be found in the discount bins at Walmart and currently on eBay. In total Stargrove released six CD's of Beatles Public Domain recordings and one Beatles-Stones-Elvis compilation.
In late 2017 DBS Records Canada released five of the original Canadian singles in the public Domain in a numbered box set as well as individually with each single housed in a cardboard picture sleeve. These could be purchased on-line directly from the issuer and through select record stores. In early 2019 test pressings of the five singles were offered on eBay for $150 each, however, I do not believe any sold.
None of the Beatles' Public Domain material was sourced from the original recording tape. All were "needle drops" sourced from original vinyl records.
When first issued the box set was offered for around $50 or $10 for each single. Currently the box set sells for $20 and individual discs for $5 each.
The company promised colored vinyl versions to be released in the spring of 2018, but they never materialize, probably due to poor sales for the initial batch.
A French Canadian company released this CD titled, "Beatles 20 Enregistrements Studio Originaux", claiming all recordings were in the Public Domain.
Most Canadian releases of public domain material disappear from the market fairly quickly, due to limited demand and potential legal issues. Distribution is mainly online. The exception were the initial Stargrove releases which sold well through Canadian Walmart stores and were available for about 12 months in store and continue to be regularly listed on eBay.
In June, 2015, Canada extended the copyright term from 50 to 70 years for published sound recordings, meaning that late ’60s recordings by The Beatles are no longer open to being in the public domain. The new law doesn’t revive the copyright of works whose term has already extinguished. Love Me Do and approximately 13 other Beatle songs aren't back into copyright and remain in the Public Domain.
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