copyrighting songs

[4johnny]

I am thinking about signing up and submitting songs. However, i have not copyrighted and of my songs yet.Is everybody here copyrighting their songs before submitting? and what is the easiest and cheapest way to go about copyrighting songs?any advice would be appreciated.thanks,John

[hummingbird]

Quote:I am thinking about signing up and submitting songs. However, i have not copyrighted and of my songs yet.Is everybody here copyrighting their songs before submitting? and what is the easiest and cheapest way to go about copyrighting songs?any advice would be appreciated.thanks,JohnYou can copyright all your current works as a collection using the PA form from the US Library of Congress for one $45 fee.Under 'nature of authorship' you say "Words & Music" (if it's whole songs)Under title of the work - you put the name of the collection and then list all the songs (you can download an additional page if the titles go over). "Collected works of John Doe 01Jan06-28Feb07: #1-Title, #2-Title, #3-Title"And burn everything on your CD in that order.(make a note of what collection each song was registered in. And, if you ever licence one of those songs, you need to specify that you are only licencing that particular song, and not the entire collection)

[jchitty]

Quote:I am thinking about signing up and submitting songs. However, i have not copyrighted and of my songs yet.Is everybody here copyrighting their songs before submitting? and what is the easiest and cheapest way to go about copyrighting songs?any advice would be appreciated.thanks,JohnHey, Johnny.I copyright all my songs before submitting them. I just think it's better to be on the safe side....I think TAXI (in their brochure) suggests that you copyright them before sending them as well.The most economical way to have songs copyrighted is to submit a collection of songs on CD to the Copyright Office/Library of Congress. It ends up costing the same, whether you submit 12 songs (as a collection) on CD or ONE song on CD....the cost is 45 dollars to file an application with them. If you go to the Library of Congress/Copyright Office website, (sorry don't have that addy), it will explain this further. However, there are a few problems with submitting a collection of songs....although it's more economical, I find that it's taking them forever to get my copyright back to me. I submitted last March and May, two collections of mine, and I've yet to receive my copyright. I've called them, and they say I can reapply again, but they also point out that I can just take my chances and hope the copyrights come to me soon. Since then, I've just submitted one song per application instead of the collections I used to submit. It's very wasteful as far as funds go, but I can sleep better knowing that my songs aren't sitting on some desk somewhere and I'm not getting that piece of paper I want. They have told me that my application is still in process, but STILL....that's a really long time to wait. I also understand that your songs are protected the minute they receive them....however, I still want that certificate. So you can do the math...I think if you do submit collections of songs, you will save tons of money rather than pay 45 dollars per song, but you might also get stuck in the pipeline (like me) if you send a rather large collection and they are so pressed for time that your application gets put at the bottom of the pile because it's very lengthy to process.

[kouly]

Just a couple of things to note, You already have a copyright when the piece is created. You do not have to do anything to get the copyright as it exists the moment youfinish it. You register it with the government to help you protect it.If you want to save some time, send the registration a few of days beforesubmitting a song. Your application is recognized as soon as it reaches theoffice in Washington.

[jeffe]

I'm in the UK, and yes. I protect all the songs that get played to anyone else other than me.Your songs are automatically copyright, once they become tangible. As soon as the words hit the paper. Proving that point is a different story. There are many different ways of protecting yourself. In different countries too.The U.S. government run a copyright registration service (I think).You can get your bank to date and store them (In the uk and probably elsewhere).Register your song with your solicitor (In the uk and probably elsewhere).The most popular method is to put your music in a parcel. Then send it by registered post to yourself. The packaging must be tamper proof, and you must never open it when you receive it. Make sure that you put the date on every object and a copyright statement with the copyright symbol. On the lyric sheet, and tape or CD.It's difficult to guarantee the success of any of these methods. The only reason for doing these things is because there are a number of unscrupulous people out there ready to copy a good song and claim that they wrote it themselves. The court case ensues, and at this point, you both have to prove who has the earliest evidence of the composition.Once you get into it, it becomes an easy routine (Copyrighting. Not court cases).