© C in a Circle - Copyright Short Subjects
In this column, I’ll try to answer some of the questions about copyright that I get asked again and again by songwriters.
By Gary Roth
When do I get a “copyright” on a song?
When you create it and memorialize it onto a tangible object, such as onto a CD, tape or paper. The law has only two requirements to get a copyright: creation and “fixation” in a tangible medium of expression.
If that’s the case, why should I bother registering the songs with the Copyright Office?
Because registering will put the world on notice as to who is the owner of the songs (in case someone wants to use the song and needs to contact you) and allows you to sue for infringement.
$30 a song is too expensive for me; I have a lot of songs to register. Isn’t there any cheaper way to do it?
Yes, if they are unpublished. You can combine them into a folio with a single title and register the folio for $30. But the individual song titles won’t be indexed. For that you need to spend another $100 and file a CA form to list all the titles. So you can do an unlimited number of registrations for $130.
Can’t I protect myself from someone stealing my songs by mailing a lead sheet or CD of them to myself by certified mail?
Because your copyright attaches at the moment you created and fixated your song, you get no better legal protection by mailing a copy to yourself.
If I get hired to write a song, do I still own the copyright in it once I create it?
It depends on whether a) you are an employee of the person or company that hired you to write it, or b) whether it is part of an audio/visual work, a contribution to a collection, a supplementary work or part of a compilation and you and the hiring party agree specifically that you have written it “for hire.” In either of those cases, the employer, not you, owns the copyright from the time of your creation of the song. Otherwise, the work is not for hire and the copyright belongs to you unless you transfer it to the employer.
If a record producer wants to cut my songs and also asks me for the publishing and I say okay but we never sign anything, is he really the publisher of my songs?
Yes, but only until you tell him he isn’t anymore. The law requires a transfer of copyright rights (which includes publishing - the right to reproduce) to be done in writing. An oral transfer is essentially just permission to exercise your rights until you decide to revoke it.
Is it true that I can decide who makes the first recording of my song?
Yes, the copyright owner has the right to decline all offers to make the first recording until he finds the person who he believes is the right one to do it. But once you permit person number one, you can’t reject anyone else’s cover recording.
Why not? It’s my song!
The law wants to encourage the dissemination of music. So it created a compulsory license that allows anyone the right to record a previously authorized recording as long as the record company pays the copyright owner royalties.
How much does it have to pay me if I own the copyright?
At the moment, 8.5 cents per song or 1.65 cents a minute, whichever is more, for each record that the record label makes and distributes. Next year the rate goes up to 9.1 cents or 1.75 cents a minute. The rate can be negotiated between the record company and the copyright owner, and often is, with these statutory rates as a maximum.
I write with a collaborator. Do we both own the copyright in our song?
Yes, if you intended to do so. If you began with the intent of one of you owning only the music and one of you owning only the lyrics, then you have separate copyrights in each. If you intended to merge your creations into a single song, you would be joint owners.
If we are joint owners, but we have a difference of opinion about what we do with the song, can one of us stop the other from licensing it or selling it?
No, if you are really joint owners, either one of you can exercise rights to the song without the consent of the other, as long as each receives his or her fair share of the proceeds. It’s like a joint bank account, where either owner can withdraw money without asking the other.
If my song is recorded, do the people who but my CDs get any interest in my copyright?
No, owning the material object on which a copyrighted work resides (the CD) gives the owner of the object no rights in the copyrighted work.
How long does my copyright last?
For 70 years after you die.
Even if I assign it to a publisher?
Yes. Although the assignment will give the publisher ownership of the copyright, the length of time that the publisher owns it is dependent upon how long you live.
What if I have a collaborator or two?
The 70 years starts running after the last one of you dies.
Do I have to write a copyright notice on the CDs I burn with my song on them?
No, but if you do, it needs to say Copyright (or ©), the year you first published it and your name.
What is that (P) notice I see on CDs?
That is the symbol for “phonorecord,” which gives notice of the copyright in the sound recording, not the song. Many times the person who owns the song (the songwriter or publisher) is different from the person who owns the recording (the record label). So there are two copyright notices on the label, one for the song and one for the recording.
Why are there so many songs with the same title? Can’t the first person to think up the title stop all others from using it?
No, because you can’t copyright titles, only expressions. But if someone’s title becomes so well known that practically everybody who hears it would connect it to the same song (such as “Last Train to Clarksville”) the copyright owner could go to court and possibly stop anyone else from using it.
How come I can’t get performing right royalties without joining a PRO?
Because royalty payments to writers and publishers by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC are based upon a contract in which the writer agrees to give the PRO his or her licensing rights and the PRO agrees to pay royalties in exchange. There is nothing in the law that requires a PRO to pay money to a writer or publisher without first establishing a relationship on their terms. If a writer never joins a PRO, he would have to get his royalties on his own from those who perform his works.
How much of someone else’s song can I sample without getting permission?
See my last column, titled “Playing Fair.”
Posted Oct 04, 2005
Member Comments
Very timely article for us as we are about to copyright about 12 songs. Thanks for the info! I’m passing it on to my writing partner. We are a actually having a copyright lawyer do it for us the first time and she will show us how to do the procedures so we can do it the next time ourselves.
Rocky Hart,
The Coastal Cowboys (on Soundclick.com)
This has been very helpful. I have a situation. Say for instance, I do my version of someone else’s song & just use one part of the chorus, but everything else is totally original. How do I give the proper credit or what is the best way to go about it? Should I go to Harry Fox? How would the publishing work in this aspect? Would it be best to work out something with Songwriter?
Hello Hello hello Bing Bang Boom Personally I wrote Sang performed and recorded a Eight song Cd or album title Jehovah Live!
It has Een Been played on the Radio
and Presently I am Schedualed to host a show at the hard Rock Cafe every thursday
the Copywrite Office sent me a Copywrite For The entire Work titles as The Jehovah Live! Cd
am I Missing Something Important?
My music is now at http://cdbaby.com/jehovah as was Discussion here in 101 also in local record Store distribution for any interested
Kevin: If you intend you use part of someone else’s song, you should contact the publisher first for permisison. The publisher needs to authoprize you to use its song and will work out credit and payment terms. If there is no publisher, contact the writer.
If I want to publish a printed copy of sheet music for sale of an arrangement of a copyrighted song, how do I go about getting the proper copyright permissions?
A writer gave me permission to record a song, which I did. I did not get written consent. DO I have a problem?
Hypothetical question: In the 1960’s some recordings were made, but not released. Neither were they registered with the copyright office. Would it be the simple solution to just copyright the individual songs on an SR form and release them now? Is it necessary to say they were created in, say, 1962?
David: You should contact the publisher of the song for permission.
Ina: You will only have a problem if the writer denies he gave you oral permission. You might want to get him to sign a paper confirming your right to record.
Michael: The law allows these “trunk” works to get protected as if they were created on 1/1/78. As long as they were never copyrighted and had not fallen into the public domain, they are considered to have a copyright from 1/1/78. Check with the Copyright Office on how to best register them.
Someone recorded a song of mine I released on my CD without my permission then contacted me after the fact when their CD was already recorded and it is getting airplay. Is there anything I can do? My CD is copyrighted but not registered with a PRO. Is it to late?
One thing I found confusing (with the copyright circulars, not your article) is that you can submit a collection if it is published, though the circulars don’t tell you that. I called the copyright office and confirmed that I could submit a collection of published songs, which I did with two CD and a form SR…
Tammy: You should contact a lawyer for assistance in gtting any royalties due you.
To Jevoahhendrickson: The best example of why you might want to kick yourself for not registering copyrights on individual songs is if someone comes up to you and says they want to record one of your songs from that collection. They could actually record EVERY song in that collection and pay you a royalty equal to only ONE SONG. My own preference is to register copyrights on each individual song because not only is that a wise investment, but I also believe strongly enough in my material to know it’s worth it.
This is a different question, but I don’t know how to submit a song for record label or artist consideration. How do I do that, and is there anything that can make a song stand out among all the other thousands of songs sent for consideration to a particular artist or label?
Thank you so much.
Usually each record company has their own criteria for submitting material, assuming they do accept outside material at all. The basics would be a CD or even DVD (no cassettes these days), a bio, a short description of the music, and a photo plus contact information. If you have press releases or newspaper write-ups, so much the better. As far as standing out - I came up with an outrageous color combination years ago (lavender stationery and hot pink envelopes). It didn’t get me more attention in the long run, so I’d say solid material and a good quality demo are the best tools. For artist consideration, I thought about putting a thumbnail photo of me with the artist on the envelope to remind them that we did meet and that they are expecting my demo, but even that can only go so far. It depends on how many artists you meet and if you have photos taken with them. I was lucky in that respect, but like I said, it hasn’t resulted in anything substantial.
Here is a new slant. I live in the U.S. and my writting partners live in Canada. How would we go about the copywrites from that standpoint.Do copywrite laws observe international borders? If anyone is familiar with please let me know
to Adam V: I don’t have an answer for you about Canada copyright laws, etc. but I do want to point out that it is not a “copywrite” you are granted (as in writing a song). It is a “right” given to you as creator of the song, therefore it is a “copyright”. It may be a small matter to some, but you need to know this distinction…makes a better impression.
Gary, you article was immensly helpful! However, I have a question (Youmay have answered this already, and if so, I apologize for asking it again) In your article, you said that a song becomes copyrighted when it is recorded. How about lyrics? If I wirte the lyrics to a song, but have not recorded the song, do I need to copyright the lyrics? Scott
Hi Scott
What he said was when it is recorded or writted down on a peice of paper it is copyrighted. When you write down the lyrics to a song, it is then your copyright.
Ina
Scott, Ina, everyone….......
That’s the poor man’s copyright. Or, I guess, mailing something to yourself is. Problem with ‘just putting it on paper’ is no one knows when you did that. And there’s no proof that ‘you’ did that.
Copyrighting your work through the normal channel i.e. Register of Copyrights, Washington, DC is the accepted proof to everyone that the work is yours.
And it’s only $30. Certainly your music and/or lyrics are worth at least that much. And you get a lifetime guarantee….......he he
DeanMiller
Hey Dean,
You know I did know that - I just thought he was wondering about what constituted a copyright. Thanks for clearing tht up though. And I agree, our work is certainly worth 30 bucks.
Ina
If you are the song writer and you have recorded the song, should you get both a PA and SR copyright?
Thanks,
devin
Devin, I would say you should get the PA form to register the song (music & lyrics), and only get the SR form if you have recorded the song and plan to release it to the public. The SR form is used to register the actual recording of the song (sound recording), not the song itself. I hope that helps.
It sucks that you can’t deny someone wanting to cover your song…once you let one person record your song!
What if you didn’t let someone else record your song, but you recorded it? Do you still have to let someone cover your song???
Once the song is released to the public, it’s open for anyone else to record it. After you’ve released your song yourself, why wouldn’t you want others to record it? That just means more songwriter royalties for you.
LOL…..personally, I wouldn’t want someone I hate to butcher my song. I think Mariah Carey sucks, but my song would probably not be simplistic enough for her, hopefully…lol. Can’t see her doing a song, she would actually have to phrase.
Gary; Did I interpret the copyright laws correct - in that when you record a song, the law requires you to register it with the copyright office?
Ina: There is no requirement to register a copyright. It is permissive, not mandatory. But once it is recorded and released, it is a good idea to register it.
I’m looking for information on how to get copyright permission for a couple of songs I’d like to do on cd. Where can I find these forms? Are they downloadable without a cost? I’m not having much success looking for this on the web
Elaine…....What do you mean by ‘copyright permission’? Do you want to get permission from someone else to put THEIR work on a CD?
Dean Miller
Dean, that’s what i’m looking to do. i want to use two songs on a cd, but i’m not having much success finding forms, or whatever needs to get submitted to receive permission to do these songs. what’s the process in getting permission to do someone else’s work on a cd to sell?
Elaine…Should probably leave that for the pros to answer. Since many times the rights are transferred from composer to publisher, MY GUESS would be to contact the publisher of the work. But I think the best advice most would give you is to use a copyright/patent attorney. Better to pay an attorney up front and get it done right than to pay in a law suit later.
Dean Miller
Dear everybody,
I don’t know when this thing was last posted but the amount for copyrights is no longer 30 dollars. It went up.
Anita…...My last copyright was 10/31/05 on form PA Short. It was $30 then. How much is it now?
DeanMiller
Thanks, Dean. Yes, the cost of registering copyrights went up on 7/1/06. A basic registration was raised to $45 and a Form CA filing is now $115. So the unlimited registration route now costs $160.
Still not bad for a lifetime of protection….....plus 70 years for our heirs. Thanks all.
DeanMiller
One correction to Mr. Roth. A joint owner of a copyright cannot give an exclusive license without permission from the other.
I notice radio talk shows use many songs as bumper music to segue to a guest, an ad, or maybe just to start or end a program.
But I understand they are allowed to do that without paying royalties as long as only so many seconds of a song are used.
Is that true? And if so, what is the limit?
Dean Miller
I’ve just filled out and sent in my PA form; I was assigned a case ID#. The website (copyright.gov) states that it can take up to 8 MONTHS to get my copyright registration back! I want to setup E Stores on ITunes, Rhapsody, etc. Will these companies accept my case ID# in place of the actual copyright while I’m waiting to get my registration back?
Ron…....You will get your actual 8 X 10 copyright paper which is your proof of copyright. I usually use Short Form PA and have never waited more than a month for mine. Many people publish their works before getting their copyrights. I would go for it. Just have the symbol © added when you get it from DC. And don’t forget to join BMI or ASCAP after it goes into publication. It’s free. And they keep track of sales and help insure your royalties.
Dean Miller
If a co-writer you worked with decides
he doesn’t want to work with you no longer, but finished a song with you
hasn’t sent you the copyright yet and won’t take half of the copyright money
you owe him for posting the copright is there anyway you can findout if he even put your name on the copyright or shafted you? An should I just say the
h_llwith it?
Anthony M. Cestaro
I wanted to also say the price of a copyright as of 2/27/10 is $65.00 if you send it in and $35.00 if you
register your copyright online.
Anthony M. Cestaro
We “The Last Bite” have just (with-in the year) started really writing & producing our music. The core of the band has been together for many yrs and have never ran into copy right infringements. “The Last Bite write, produce, & perform their music. With the enormous exposure of the internet comes the possibility of “unauthorized use” of a composer/performer’s music.
We have just submitted to join the BMI, although we have known about BMI for years we have just recently run into some issues; (a rock group) that used one of our songs while they were performing at one of the more popular music festivals. We heard about this from a person that has been following our band and heard the song on one of the internet sites that we are on. The band offered an apology after the fact, and asked for permission to use the song(s) in some of their up-coming shows.
Our question is; what are some of the steps that we can take to assure that our music is protected worldwide (all media forums)?
Best regards,
http://www.copyright.gov enables you to register your ‘right’ to ‘copy’ your intellectual property. That registration should give you control over who gets to use your property. You CAN’T recover attorneys’ fees, a big DIS-incentive for a lawyer to take your case. Without it you CAN’T bring an infringement suit if someone makes money using your works. With it you CAN compel a ‘mechanical license,’ which, I’m told can be $10,000. If they’re selling millions of units and getting airplay you could claim some of the profit. If they’re just selling a few CD’s you can still require them to pay a mech. license fee of about 9 cents (American) per song per unit manufactured, CD’s or downloads. Most countries are party to the Berne Convention, respecting each others’ copyright laws. Your registration may cover you globally. http://www.johnbraheny.com may have a nice educational pdf you can download. His book may be on http://www.amazon.com for an inexpensive yet comprehensive education on various aspects of music commerce. Get copies for each member of your team who is taking the commercial aspects of the company seriously. Study like schoolboys. Take notes. Discuss. Learn. BMI’s website http://www.bmi.com may also be very educational. http://www.harryfoxagency.com can handle the mechanical licensing for you. If your product is worth stealing it is worth protecting. It’s time to go to school on the commercial aspects of taking your art to market without getting robbed. The band that has been covering your work can be a problem or a credential to cite, especially if they’re growing a fanbase and potentially selling many units or getting future airplay. Accentuate the positive. How can you best profit from what has already been done? You can become adversaries with them, or partners, promoting them, seeing if you have expertise to offer them, seeing if you have other songs to offer. They can be an asset or a liability. How you handle it determines whether you have aggravation in your life, or new commercial success. The other band has made a commitment. They’re IN. You have an opportunity to enjoy some of whatever ‘fame’ or reputation they’re generating, and part of the profit. Break a leg. Welcome to showbiz, and welcome to the campus of Songwriter101. All the links at the top of the page are worth perusing.
YEA GAVE ME ALOTA THAT I REALLY DIDNT KNOW LIKE DAT .. THEY TOLD ME ANOTHER STORY THANKS ..
I have a question Gary,
I’m a singer songwriter and I create a publisher with a PRO.
Two years ago I registered a group of songs with a PA form.
Now I have 6 of them recorded on an album an I want to register them with a SR Form.
I put in the cover art (C) & (P) 2010 My Music Publisher Name
How may I do the registration as a Publisher, when I am also the author?
