[Upd-discuss] recordings in the public domain

[Stark]

First, I apologize if this is considered off topic for this list.  It is 
however an attempt to expand the public domain.

A colleague of mine has a pretty large collection of rare 78's, most of 
which is entirely unavailable for purchase by modern publishers.  I had 
hoped we could make digital copies and make them available on the web.  
However,  this site:
http://www.pdinfo.com/record.htm
made me quite leary.  the key statement is:
"Different copyright experts have offered very different complicated 
explanations, but all agree that all sound recordings essentially are 
under copyright protection until the year 2067. "
Is this accurate?  Could someone clarify for my why this is so?  What 
about the case where the music publisher has gone out of business?  What 
happens to the copyright then?  I assume this is true only in America?   
If someone could point me in the right direction to answer these 
questions, I'd be grateful.