Song Clearance Sheet
5 sources citedThe Entertainer
Ragtime1900sPictured: Original sheet music (public domain) · source
92BPM
C majKey
More around 90 BPM → · More in C major → · More “Public Domain” →
Tempo/key via GetSongBPM →
Algorithmically estimated; acoustic-era recordings are a documented hard case for automated tempo/key detection.
The verdict
Public Domain
In the public domain — but check the Rights Status below; a specific host's copy can carry its own caveat.
Used by independents?
Yes — it’s in the public domain — free for any independent artist to use, with no clearance needed.
Origin
Composed by Scott Joplin in 1902; ranked #10 on the "Songs of the Century" list (a joint RIAA / National Endowment for the Arts project)
A prediction, fulfilled late
Joplin reportedly predicted he would not receive due recognition until 25 years after his 1917 death; it actually came in 1973 — 56 years later — when this piece became the theme for "The Sting"
Rights Status
Licenses explained →Public domain is not one blanket badge — each source can carry its own caveat
The compositionPublic domain
The early recordingPublic domain
Cultural Impact
Documented covers, adaptations, and cultural echoes — each with a real, dated source
Won an Oscar and topped the charts, 70 years after it was written
Marvin Hamlisch adapted this and five other Joplin rags for the 1973 Best Picture winner "The Sting," winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score/Adaptation; released as a single, it hit #3 on the Billboard pop chart and #1 adult contemporary.
Songfacts / Patch · read it →
A direct tribute at the Grammys
When Hamlisch won the Grammy for Best New Artist on the strength of the adaptation, he said Scott Joplin was "the real new artist of the year."
Patch · read it →
Introduced a generation to Scott Joplin
Pianist Lara Downes describes "The Entertainer" via "The Sting" as literally how she and "every other kid in America... taking piano lessons" first discovered Joplin.
NPR / NCPR · read it →
A worthwhile critical complexity
At least one critic notes the ragtime "revivals" carry a documented pattern: Black musical innovation commercially rediscovered decades later, often mediated and profited from by white performers and arrangers. Presented as critical discussion, not a settled judgment.
Ethan Iverson's Substack · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?Yes — free to use without clearance
References
Every source cited on this page — 5 in total
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Page history · 2 updates
Jul 2026Page created — full PD research (batch NEW)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending a separate manual keyfinder pass