How to Copyright Your Music
Are you a songwriter or producer worried about copyright infringement of your music? You’ve come to the right place. Every artist wants their music to be protected from anyone who might steal it and earn all the money they deserve.
If you’re a songwriter, then you have the copyright to every song that you finish. It means that if another artist writes a piece the same as yours, you can claim your copyrights. Not to mention that you can only claim a song to be yours, which is officially copyrighted under your name.
Now getting copyright to your music might sound a daunting task, but it’s not that tricky. Read on to explore everything you need to know about how to copyright your music.
What is a Music Copyright?
Copyright implies that a person or a group owns the intellectual property. Music copyright also means that a songwriter has official rights to all the songs he wrote. It also means that the person may earn money from the piece he owns.
Music copyright works differently in each factor. If you wrote a song with a partner, you both would have the copyright for that song. If you work under a label, the chances are that your label will own the copyright of your recordings.
How to protect your songs from Copyright Infringement?
There are many ways that you can use to protect your songs from copyright infringement. You can always write your musical work, or you can have an audio recording of your music.
Another way is the poor man’s music copyright used by many artists, but it’s useless. In this way, the musician mails himself a copy of his song via certified email. The artist doesn’t open the envelope as it has the official date mentioned on the outside.
This idea used to help if someone tries to steal your work, but this practice is now obsolete. In 2019, the Supreme Court issued a rule that artists register their work with the U.S. copyright office. It’s the best way to sue someone who may have stolen your music.
Types of Music Copyright
There are two basics of music copyright “the composition” and “the sound recording.” The composition includes the lyrics and music of a song usually owned by songwriters. And the sound recording consists of the recorded version of lyrics owned by artists.
How to register a Copyright for my Songs?
Now that you know how copyright is crucial for you as an artist, you might wonder how to register it. Well, you need to go to the Copyright Office for official copyright if you live in the United States.
There are specific rules that copyright offices have. And every country has its own intellectual property office. You can register yourself online on copyright.gov if you live in the United States.
Artists who don’t have a copyright office in their country can register in another country. Suppose someone wants to record their songs to copyright in the U.S., they can go to copyright.gov.
The process to register for copyright online is very simple. You need to search for copyright.gov on google and go to the “U.S. copyright office.” Sign-up for registering copyright and fill in all the information they need along with the fee. Once you’re done, you are registered as copyright, which will hold you up in court.
Also, after some weeks, the U.S. Copyright Office will send you a letter in the mail with an official stamp. And it works as official proof, so keep it safe in your essential documents. This way, if a person steals your song or claims that you stole their song, you have the copyright and are backed up in court.
Can I hire copyright services?
There are tons of copyright service providers who do all the legal work for you. It’s like hiring a music manager, but the tasks are different here. Online copyright service providers like Cosynd and CD baby pro handle all the heavy work for you.
The online service-providing companies use straightforward steps for registering a copyright. It’s best for people who don’t have time to go through distinct stages of the Copyright office themselves.
The copyright services provider works professionally and provides quick services. They can help you register many songs in one application for copyright.
Essential things you need to consider when registering
If you decide to register your songs in the U.S. copyright office yourself, you’ll want to file “Form S.R.” or “Form PA.” Before moving on to the registration process, be sure to read the application types.
There are different applications used for registering a copyright. If you wrote your songs by yourself or if you have a co-author. There will be a unique application form for each situation.
There is a question that artists often wonder is, what if they want to register both the composition and the sound recording?
According to copyright.gov, a musician can use one S.R. form to register for sound recording and composition. But this can only happen if the author of all the songs and songs release information is the same.
What if I want to file a lawsuit?
An artist can only sue if he has registered his work in the U.S. copyright office before the lawsuit. To get the highest award for infringement, register yourself before the breach happens.
If an infringement happens, the artist can sue in federal court and small claims court. After using, it’s mandatory for both the filer and infringer to show participation in the court. The creators who win their case in federal court can earn $750-$150,000 per infringement.
The Bottom Line!
Now that you know how to copyright your music and how crucial it is for you as a musician, it’s time to get registered. The copyright registering process can take several months, so you don’t want to delay it further. If you find the process daunting or don’t have enough time, you can always hire copyright service providers.
If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to Contact us!
