Station Hog Summer

The sound recording of "Station Hog Summer" by Dale Evans Woodburn is currently classified as UNCERTAIN under the Music Modernization Act (MMA). This classification stems directly from the deterministic rule engine's inability to ascertain the year of fixation for this particular recording. The MMA, specifically 17 U.S.C. § 1401(a), establishes a tiered system for sound recording copyright terms based on their fixation date. Recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, are granted a federal copyright term of 95 years from publication or 120 years from fixation, whichever expires first, and generally entered federal protection on January 1, 2022. Recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972, but before January 1, 1978, generally have a term of 95 years from publication. Without a confirmed fixation year, it's impossible to apply the correct statutory term. To accurately determine the copyright status of this sound recording, the critical missing piece of information is its fixation date. This date dictates which specific MMA provision applies and, consequently, how long the recording remains under federal copyright protection. For instance, if fixed prior to February 15, 1972, it would be subject to the transition rules for pre-1972 recordings. If fixed after that date, it would fall under the standard federal copyright terms. Without this foundational piece of data, any determination would be speculative, hence the 'UNCERTAIN' status. Publicly available information regarding 'Station Hog Summer' by Dale Evans Woodburn, including release dates on streaming platforms or music databases, often does not explicitly state the fixation year. This lack of clear metadata is a common challenge for many lesser-known or independently released recordings, preventing a definitive application of the MMA's federal copyright terms.