Christmas songs are some of the most streamed songs in existence.
Plus, every year they become relevant again, so releasing some Christmas music is a great idea.
Sure, you can write your own original Christmas songs, and that's great.
But the beauty of covers is that people are already SEARCHING for these songs, and therefore, you have a greater chance of being discovered.
So covering Christmas music is a great idea, especially if it's in the public domain...
But just what is public domain?
What Is Public Domain?
Public domain is a term for songs where legal copyright protections have expired and no permission from the owner is required to use the work.
If a song is in the public domain, then you can legally cover it and release it without having to acquire a mechanical license. A mechanical license gives you the right to legally distribute your cover (recording of a copyrighted song).
Get Your Songs On Spotify Playlists
Click below to download my free guide covering a simple formula you can follow to get your songs on Spotify playlists and explode your streams without spending a dime!
What Makes A Song "In The Public Domain"?
If the publication date is before 1927, the song is in the public domain, which means it doesn't require any licensing for use.
In fact, all works published or released in the United States before January 1, 1927, have lost their copyright protection.
New content enters the public domain every year.
All literature, movies, and other works released 96 years ago enter the public domain. So each new year, on January 1st, new works enter the public domain.
How To Cover A Song That Isn't In The Public Domain?
If you want to record and release a song that is not public domain, then you'll need to get a mechanical license.
You can do this yourself by going to Harry Fox Agency, but this can be a complicated and time-consuming process.
The easiest way to get a mechanical license is through DistroKid, which will handle all of the legal rigamarole for you for a small fee.
You can learn more about DistroKid here. (affiliate)
Christmas Songs In The Public Domain

If you don't want to bother with having to get a license, then just cover one or more of the 47 Christmas songs below.
- Angels We Have Heard On High
- Angels from the Realms of Glory
- All Through The Night
- Auld Lang Syne
- Away In A Manger
- Birthday Of A King
- Carol of The Bells
- Coventry Carol
- Christians Awake
- Deck The Halls
- For Unto Us
- Go Tell It On The Mountain
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Good King Wenceslas
- Hallelujah Chorus
- Handel's Messiah
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- Here We Come A-Caroling (Wassail Song)
- I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
- I Saw Three Ships
- In The Bleak Midwinter
- It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
- Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
- Jingle Bells
- Jolly Old St. Nicholas
- Joy To The World
- Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
- O Christmas Tree
- O Come All Ye Faithful
- O Come O Come Emmanuel
- O Holy Night
- O Little Town Of Bethlehem
- Once In Royal David’s City
- Patapan
- Silent Night
- Star Of The East
- There's A Song In The Air
- The First Noel
- The Nutcracker Theme
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
- Toyland
- Up On The Housetop
- Watchman Tell Us of The Night
- We Three Kings
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas
- What Child Is This
- While Shepherds Watched
Christmas Songs NOT In The Public Domain
These are songs you'll need to acquire a mechanical license for if you want to create a cover.
DistroKid makes this super easy as they will actually handle all of the legal stuff for you!
- All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
- All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Amarga Navidad
- Baby, It's Cold Outside
- Blue Christmas
- Burrito de Belén
- Canción de Navidad
- Carol Of The Bells (Lyrics Only, Music, Public Domain)
- Caroling, Caroling
- Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (The Christmas Song)
- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
- Christmas Time is Here
- Christmas Waltz
- Do You Hear What I Hear
- Feliz Navidad
- Frosty The Snowman
- Grown-up Christmas List
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
- Holly Jolly Christmas
- Home For the Holidays
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- I Wonder as I Wander
- I'll Be Home for Christmas
- It's a Marshmallow World
- It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
- It's Christmas Time All Over the World
- Jingle Bell Rock
- La Fiesta de Pilito
- La Murga
- Last Christmas
- Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
- Little Drummer Boy
- Mary Did You Know
- Mary's Boy Child (aka Mary's Little Boy Child)
- Mele Kalikimaka
- Merry Christmas Baby
- Merry Christmas Darling
- Mi Regalo Favorito
- Navidad Blanca
- Navidad Feliz (Jingle Bells)
- Navidad, Navidad
- Noche de Luz
- Pretty Paper
- Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Run Run Rudolph
- Santa Baby
- Santa Claus Is Back In Town
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
- Silver Bells
- Sleigh Ride
- Star Carol
- Star Carol (Classical)
- Suzy Snowflake
- The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
- This Christmas
- We Need a Little Christmas
- What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
- When A Child Is Born
- When Christmas Comes To Town
- White Christmas
- White World of Winter
- Winter Wonderland
- Ya Llego la Navidad
- You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch
Speaking of legal stuff...
Do You Need To Copyright Your Music?
If you want to know if you should copyright your music, as well as other legal issues concerning musicians...
Want To Grow Your Spotify Streams?
Once you've got your Christmas covers up on Spotify, it's time to promote them!
And one of the best ways to do this is to get your music on to more Spotify playlists.
Grab my free guide below which will walk you through how to get your songs onto more Spotify playlists.
Not only will this help you get on playlists, but if you get on enough of them, you can trigger the Spotify algorithm and get your music added to Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and other algorithmic Spotify playlists.
Just click below to download my guide and get the streaming snowball rolling!
Get Your Songs On Spotify Playlists
Click below to download my free guide covering a simple formula you can follow to get your songs on Spotify playlists and explode your streams without spending a dime!
My Favorite Tools & Resources For Growing A Fanbase Online
DistroKid - Best Digital Distributor For Musicians
I've tried out and explored a several different music distributors, but haven't found any as good as DistroKid. DistroKid is designed to help indie artists succeed with its' affordable pricing plans that allow you to upload unlimited music to streaming platforms and digital stores.
ConvertKit - Best Email Marketing Tool For Musicians
Better than social media followers or even Spotify followers are email list subscribers. Email list subscribers are an audience of fans that you own and control (social media platforms can't take them away from you). Plus, these are fans that are engaged, and far more likely to buy from you, or join your membership. You will need an email autoresponder tool to get started with email marketing, and ConvertKit is the best one I've found for musicians.
Best Print-On-Demand Merch Provider
One of the best ways to monetize your fanbase is to offer them merch, but it can be expensive to buy a bunch of merch items in bulk that you're not even sure will sell. The solution is print-on-demand or what is otherwise known as "dropshipping". All you do is list merch items on your site that you design through Printful, and then Printful will handle the creation and shipping of your products. It's that simple! I've been using Printful for years, and love them.
Podia - Best All-In-One Membership Platform
Another fantastic, and often overlooked, method for monetizing your fanbase is to offer courses to your fans. You could teach on how to play a specific instrument, how to write lyrics, or anything related to music or other skills you've developed. Podia is a course platform that will allow you to host your courses and receive payments.
Not only that, but Podia also has email marketing built in, and can even allow you create your own membership (like Patreon) to collect on-going payments from your fans.
Another awesome perk of Podia is that it allow you to charge for live online events, so if you wanted to host a virtual concert or listening party, you can use Podia to collect payments from your fans and grant them access to your live event.
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