FAQ

After registering, you will receive an email from Songwriter101.com with instructions.  All you need to do is to click the link presented in the email. 

Hopefully you are signed up with a performing rights organization like BMI (see Is a Performing Rights Organization the Same Thing as a Publisher?. PROs collect money from radio stations (and other businesses that use music) and distribute them as royalties to songwriters. You can only get paid from radio play if you are affiliated with a PRO.

You should register your songs as soon as you have officially registered as a songwriter. Again, most offer online works registration or you can call your local office for the paperwork.

Go to your profile page by clicking on your name in the upper right.

The button to log out is labeled “Logout”.

Nielsen SoundScan is an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant and non-traditional (online stores, venues, etc.) outlets. Weekly data is compiled and made available every Wednesday. SoundScan is the sales source for the Billboard music charts. You can register your CD at http://www.soundscan.com/register.html

Copyright is an exclusive right granted by law that allows you to control the use of your creative works. The current copyright term is life plus 70 years after the death of the surviving writer or author of the work.

Technically, your song is copyrighted as soon as you finish writing it but you should register it with the Copyright Office since it will provide you with protection against anyone who tries to use your song without your permission (see How Do I Copyright My Songs?). The cost to register a song (using form PA) is only $30 and is a good investment. Although attorneys don’t usually recommend it, you can also do the “poor man’s copyright,” which entails putting written songs in a sealed envelope and mailing them back to yourself from your local post office, but be aware that this method may not hold up in a court of law.

A cue sheet is a listing of the music used in a TV show or movie by title, composer, publisher, timing and type of usage (e.g., background, feature, theme) usually prepared by the producer of the program or film. Again, if your songs are registered, then the information will come automatically.

Home recording is so inexpensive to do that it shouldn’t be an obstacle for anyone. A nice home studio can be set up for under $1,000. You also might be able to work something out with a local recording studio, which are often in need of business since the home recording revolution took hold.

Again, your song is copyrighted as soon as you finish writing it but it’s a good idea to register that copyright with the government (see “How do I copyright my songs?). Registering a song with a PRO will allow you to receive performance royalties if that song gets radio play; it does not give you protection under copyright law.