To Copyright Register a Song Is It a Sound Recording or a Performing Arts
Why independent songwriters should register the copyright for their music
[This article is written by guest contributor Anthony Ceseri.]
Delight Note: This article discusses opinions on copyrighting your music and should not be considered legal advice. If y'all're unsure about how the copyright laws in your state will affect you, delight contact a lawyer before proceeding.
When you submit a song for copyright yous're simply proving the date of submission of your work. The fine folks of the copyright office don't sit around listening to every submission to see if they've heard it earlier. That would be an incommunicable task. When you lot write or record your song, technically, you've created it — and thus yous own the copyright to it.
By submitting a song to the copyright office, y'all're protecting your music simply past acknowledging the appointment of its creation.
Annals YOUR COPYRIGHT TODAY
Some aspects of your song are NOT protected even if y'all've registered the copyright. These include:
- chord progressions
- the overall idea or concept of your song
- and a title or short phrase
Only call up about how many songs take used cliche ideas like "I wish you were here," or "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Also, imagine how many copyright infringements at that place would be if the I – 5 – vi – Iv chord progression could be copyrighted. On the other hand, melodies and the actual lyrics are very much covered under copyright protection.
First the copyright registration process
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REGISTER YOUR COPYRIGHT TODAY
If you want to go the totally DIY road, the website for registering your copyright in the United states of america is https://www.copyright.gov/. On this website, yous'll exist able to print forms for mailing in the music you want to copyright, or y'all can submit your music for copyright online, which makes submitting fifty-fifty easier.
When it comes time to copyrighting your music, in that location are ii forms you can utilize equally a songwriter. They are Form SR and Course PA. Technically, there are iii forms, if you consider the fact that there's besides a curt-class version of the PA form. But that offers the same protection equally the PA course. SR stands for Sound Recording, while PA stands for Performing Arts. So how practise you lot know which one to utilise? The following is from the Copyright Part'south website and will answer that for yous:
When to Use Form SR (Sound Recordings)
Use Grade SR for registration of published or unpublished sound recordings, that is, for registration of the particular sounds or recorded operation.
Class SR must besides be used if you wish to brand one registration for both the sound recording and the underlying work (the musical composition, dramatic, or literary work). You may make a single registration only if the copyright claimant is the same for both the sound recording and the underlying work. In this case, the authorship argument in Space 2 should specify that the claim covers both works.
Grade SR is likewise the appropriate class for registration of a multimedia kit that combines 2 or more kinds of authorship including a audio recording (such as a kit containing a book and an audiocassette).
When to Use Form PA (Performing Arts)
For registration purposes, musical compositions and dramatic works that are recorded on disks or cassettes are works of the performing arts and should be registered on Form PA or Short Class PA. Therefore, if you wish to register only the underlying work that is a musical composition or dramatic work, apply Form PA even though you may send a disk or cassette.
Examples of the Proper Utilize of Forms PA and SR
Jane Smith composes words and music, which she entitles "Blowing in the Breeze." Fifty-fifty though she records it, she is not interested in registering the item recording only just in registering the composition itself. If she decides to submit "Blowing in the Cakewalk" for copyright registration, she should utilise Form PA.
Emily Tree performs and records Jane Smith's "Blowing in the Cakewalk" after complying with permissions and license procedures. If Emily decides to submit her recording for copyright registration, she should apply Form SR.
The same principles apply to literary and dramatic works. A recorded functioning of an actor speaking lines from "Village" could be registered on Form SR equally a sound recording. The claimant in the audio recording, of course, has no copyright in the underlying work, "Hamlet."
Copyright registration costs…
There is a toll associated with each application, whether information technology's a Course PA or From SR. Check the Copyright Office's website for the most up-to-date fees. The good news is, if you're copyrighting your ain music, you can submit multiple songs under one awarding for one application fee. So if you're copyrighting an album of ten songs, as opposed to copyrighting them one past one, you'll save a few hundred bucks when protecting your piece of work. Plus information technology saves you lot the paperwork of copyrighting all of your songs separately.
Poor-Man's Copyright, and Other No-No's
Information technology'southward as well worth mentioning that there are a couple makeshift copyright alternatives that songwriters occasionally similar to talk about. I don't recommend doing these. The nigh popular is called the "Poor Man's Copyright." This is when you physically mail a recording of your song to yourself via certified postal service and keep it sealed. Supposedly the postmark on the envelope will date your music and therefore protect you lot if someone comes along subsequently that and steals your song. A newer version of this idea is merely putting your song on YouTube or another time-stamped social media outlet. The idea is that your music is dated and therefore protected by the time stamp on the social media site.
All I can say most these kinds of alternatives is — DON'T DO THEM! Their ideas may make sense to you lot, but if it ever came downwardly to a court boxing, you would absolutely desire your music properly registered with the copyright function. Especially considering the fact that it's actually not that expensive if y'all submit a whole collection of songs at once. Taking the proper means to protect your music is something all artists should do as they motility frontwards with their music careers.
Now that you lot have a background on how to get your music copyrighted, move forrard with the process then you can get your music out to the masses and get heard!
For a lot more than useful songwriting data, grab my free EBook hither: https://successforyoursongs.com/freeoffer/
Register YOUR COPYRIGHT TODAY
[Copyright prototype from Shutterstock.]
Source: https://diymusician.cdbaby.com/music-rights/how-to-copyright-your-music/
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