Public Domain Christmas Songs: Christmas Songs You Can Cover Without Permission!

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). 

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. 

1. Angels We Have Heard On High
2. Angels from the Realms of Glory
3. All Through The Night
4. Auld Lang Syne
5. Away In A Manger
6. Birthday Of A King
7. Carol of The Bells
8. Coventry Carol
9. Christians Awake
10. Deck The Halls
11. For Unto Us
12. Go Tell It On The Mountain
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
14. Good King Wenceslas
15. Hallelujah Chorus
16. Handel's Messiah
17. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
18. Here We Come A-Caroling (Wassail Song)
19. I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day
20. I Saw Three Ships
21. In The Bleak Midwinter
22. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
23. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
24. Jingle Bells
25. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
26. Joy To The World
27. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
28. O Christmas Tree
29. O Come All Ye Faithful
30. O Come O Come Emmanuel
31. O Holy Night
32. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
33. Once In Royal David’s City
34. Patapan
35. Silent Night
36. Star Of The East
37. There's A Song In The Air
38. The First Noel
39. The Nutcracker Theme
40. The Twelve Days of Christmas
41. Toyland
42. Up On The Housetop
43. Watchman Tell Us of The Night
44. We Three Kings
45. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
46. What Child Is This
47. 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! 

1. All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You
3. Amarga Navidad
4. Baby, It's Cold Outside
5. Blue Christmas
6. Burrito de Belén
7. Canción de Navidad
8. Carol Of The Bells (Lyrics Only, Music, Public Domain)
9. Caroling, Caroling
10. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (The Christmas Song)
11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
12. Christmas Time is Here
13. Christmas Waltz
14. Do You Hear What I Hear
15. Feliz Navidad
16. Frosty The Snowman
17. Grown-up Christmas List
18. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
19. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
20. Holly Jolly Christmas
21. Home For the Holidays
22. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
23. I Wonder as I Wander
24. I'll Be Home for Christmas
25. It's a Marshmallow World
26. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
27. It's Christmas Time All Over the World
28. Jingle Bell Rock
29. La Fiesta de Pilito
30. La Murga
31. Last Christmas
32. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
33. Little Drummer Boy
34. Mary Did You Know
35. Mary's Boy Child (aka Mary's Little Boy Child)
36. Mele Kalikimaka
37. Merry Christmas Baby
38. Merry Christmas Darling
39. Mi Regalo Favorito
40. Navidad Blanca
41. Navidad Feliz (Jingle Bells)
42. Navidad, Navidad
43. Noche de Luz
44. Pretty Paper
45. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
46. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
47. Run Run Rudolph
48. Santa Baby
49. Santa Claus Is Back In Town
50. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
51. Silver Bells
52. Sleigh Ride
53. Star Carol
54. Star Carol (Classical)
55. Suzy Snowflake
56. The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
57. This Christmas
58. We Need a Little Christmas
59. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
60. When A Child Is Born
61. When Christmas Comes To Town
62. White Christmas
63. White World of Winter
64. Winter Wonderland
65. Ya Llego la Navidad
66. 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...

Then check out my article here, where I interviewed lawyer every music legal question I could think of, and got his response.

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!