Coffee House Residents do you copyright your music & Why?

yes, it's easier in court if you've registered it. 

What songs have you written James! :D:D

Well, I admit it's an exercise in pretense, but that's the crux of the matter:  lyrics.  One is really copyrighting the lyrics (plus music) when one copyrights.  I'm not a legal eagle though, remember...salt.

jamesg1213
No. Because the likelihood of someone stealing my music is even smaller than someone buying it.

 
Unless you count whichever Gallagher brother had a day off from copying the Beatles and pinched one of yours instead!
 

paulo

jamesg1213
No. Because the likelihood of someone stealing my music is even smaller than someone buying it.

 
Unless you count whichever Gallagher brother had a day off from copying the Beatles and pinched one of yours instead!
 

Yeah!
 
 
 
 
 
What?

Yes.
 
Nothing leaves the house unless copyrighted.
So if I ever am in the bread isle and hear one of my songs over the in store audio shopping network.
There's no need to panic, see how it's doing, maybe call my attorney.

jamesg1213

eph221
What songs have you written James! :D:D

 
I don't write songs David, I write instrumental music.

I think my various covers of John Cage's 4:33 are safe. 

I have always thought that copyright was assumed as soon as you master your track. Also, I assume that some will steal my  music and some will buy. I think if someone stole enough of my music i would track them down myself and confront them. Also, it seems that when you copyright your music, it can't be used on YouTube or facebook without getting blocked  and asked to prove use rights. My music for the most part has no words so the better term would be soundtrack. IMHO... -s
 
 

shawn@trustmedia.tv
Also, it seems that when you copyright your music, it can't be used on YouTube or facebook without getting blocked  and asked to prove use rights.

That has it sort of backwards. YouTube will block your content if it seems to include a portion of an unlicensed copy of someone else's copyrighted work. For one group of customers (record companies and publishers primarily) there is a robot working for YouTube that scans uploads for stuff that might belong to them and automatically takes action. There are also independent companies that provide robot scans of uploaded material and submit takedown notices etc. for their clients. Any individual who thinks you have stolen his stuff can also demand a takedown. In any case, if you have a registered copyright it will not be much help in this case since the registered work is not accessible in the Copyright Office for simple verification. Copies can be obtained after considerable delay for active lawsuits but short of going to court you are not likely to get YouTube to modify its decision if the other contesting party is at all credible. In order to get YouTube to restore your content (or remove advertising that pays the contesting party to license it for use) you will have to appeal to YouTube. The contestant can then file a DMCA Takedown Notice, in which he must swear that he has a good faith reason to believe you are the infringer of his work. He can also send you a scary cease and desist notice threatening legal action, or at any point he can file an infringement lawsuit in Federal Court, likely committing you to thousands of dollars in defense costs even if you are in the right. In any case filing a DMCA takedown notice obligates the online service to remove your work. Your legal recourse is to file a counter notice, and the option for the contestant is to then file an infringement lawsuit within two weeks or the takedown notice will no longer be valid. From the author's position, this makes registration of copyright a practical necessity, since the long delay required to file a copyright registration will make it impossible to file suit within the two week period.
 
https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property/guide-to-youtube-removals
 

Well, I know from experience that YouTube and facebook block copywritten music which makes it a no for copyrighting my music. Thanks Guys..

I write songs. I can’t sing anymore not that I could before but I agree completely with James why onones goi g ro listen or buy

Well you go right ahead and 'make it happen' then, and we'll all follow your shining example.
 
:D:D
 
Yeah, sarcasm.
 

When I was researching copyrights I found it was as slartabartfast was saying, technically it is copyrighted once it is created but can't really be enforced until it is registered. I really never had anything that I felt the need to register.
 
As to youtube and copyrights, you have to be careful as there are trolls that will claim copyright trying to scam ad dollars, royalty money scam or because they merely think you stole it from them. Unfortunately, getting a take down is a lot easier than contesting one.
 
There was an issue with some royalty free music in which the bots were seeing some of the same loops. Since one creation using the loops may have been copyrighted, a song using those same royalty free loops were tripping the bots subjecting them to a bogus takedown notice.
 
As far as 'stealing'... I had an odd one. I did a video countdown leader that I uploaded to youtube for a contest. For some odd reason it went viral in Brazil (440k views). Apparently somebody in Brazil was telling huge groups of people that he did it. I then started getting a rash of comments in portuguese. According to google translate, it was a bunch of angry people wanting to know why I stole HIS work.