Mood:
chillin'Why You Should Copyright Your Songs
Before copyrighting any of your musical works, it's best
that you first understand what it really means. I've heard
people ask the questions, "Have your songs been
copywritten?". I'll need to note that to 'copyright' has
nothing to do with 'writing', therefore, using the word
'copywritten' would be incorrect.
The proper term to refer to musical works that have been
registered is 'copyrighted'. The reason the aforementioned
incorrect term is often used is because, again, many have
no idea what it means to copyright, let alone the correct
procedure to do so.
To 'copyright', as it is referred to by most people,
simply means to "legally register your RIGHT to copy, sell,
and/or publish works of the performing arts". So, as you
can see, it's not so much about 'writing', but REGISTERING.
You may be surprised to know that registration is NOT
legally required. If you compose, write, or record your
own song, The U.S. Library of Congress states that as soon
as your work has been placed onto some tangible form
where others can read, hear, or have access to it, A
COPYRIGHT HAS AUTOMATICALLY BEEN FORMED. This means that
as soon as it's out of your head and on paper, sheet
music, cassette, CD, DVD, or any other form of physical
media, the creator(s) of the work automatically own the
work LEGALLY. You don't need to register it to own it.
So, why go through the trouble and spend the money to
register a copyright? Because you need to register it TO
PROVE YOU OWN IT. Registration provides a legal record of
ownership. Without a copyright registration, you have no
leg to stand on if you ever had to fight in court to prove
you own a musical work.
Without registration of your copyright, it would be almost
impossible to collect royalties or damages, especially if
the thief gets a registration to your song on file
before you do. I've personally known this to happen to
more than one person I know.
Most thieves who know a lot about the music industry are
not bold (or dumb) enough to just straight-up steal your
songs and try to copyright them in their current form.
But, they will attempt to steal your ideas by changing
them a bit and re-recording them; and this happens a lot.
One of the most common forms of copyright infringement is
when unathorized copies of music and videos are mass
produced and sold without the copyright owner's knowledge
or consent, taking profits from the creator/owmer. And the
internet brings about a whole new issue of unauthorized
downloads.
Bottom line: There are things you can do to make it hard
for thieves from pirating your stuff. However, you can't
really stop anyone from trying to steal your creative
works if they're determined to do so, no matter what you
do. But, when you register copyrights for ALL your music
you at least will place yourself in the legal position to
prosecute and collect damages if and when someone does
infringe upon you legal rights.
