I've tried to find out who the copyright holder for Lightnin' Hopkin's "Once Was A Gambler" but I'm not having any luck. I REALLY want to see if I can use this song in my feature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The song was also used in the 2009 film "Crazy Heart".
Did you try your search on the US Copyright Office / Library of Congress web site? All you need is an author's name or the title of one of their works.
Might be a bit more complicated than that; the US copyright office online only lets you search works registered after 1978...given that Hopkins died in 1981, I'm guessing the song is older than that!
I found it quite quickly. The rights to that recording are
administered by The Royalty Network and Sanga Music. On their
“Contact Us” page there are e-mails and a phone number.
I found it quite quickly. The rights to that recording are
administered by The Royalty Network and Sanga Music. On their
“Contact Us” page there are e-mails and a phone number.