FAQ

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.

Yes, a new version of an old song, also called a derivative work, should be copyrighted, noting the ways it’s been altered from the previous version.

You don’t need to have a publishing company to register a song with a performing rights organization.

Keep in mind that although companies like Taxi do provide a legitimate service of shopping your music to industry executives, it will cost you. A few agencies will also include evaluations, live events, news pages and other bells and whistles but it’s best to consult with your manager or attorney to determine whether or not you should sign up for such a service.

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 $500. Or you might be able to work something out with a local recording studio, which are hurting since the home recording revolution took hold.

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.

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As a songwriter, you inherently own the publishing rights to your music and you retain creative control.

Registering your copyrights is not required but it is highly recommended since doing so will give you certain protection under copyright law in case you need to sue someone for using your song without your permission.