While browsing a few publisher's web sites I found this and remembered that a few folks here from time to time have asked about this topic. I have replied and generally advise people NOT to copyright a song, because that is what I was told by a very reputable and large Film & TV library owner who has signed a number of my songs.   

Here is a different publisher (from Nashville TN ) also saying the same thing...and discussing briefly using a computer to create your music.....and not to worry about the LOC copyright as all the files are date stamped by the computer.

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The business side of publishing isn’t difficult, but it can be complicated because we don’t have everyday models to compare it to ~ nothing to say ‘it looks like so & so’ ~ and there are lots and lots of different contracts and licenses. Here are some basic pointers & MUST DO’S:

Join a PRO (Performing Rights Organization) such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC (whatever your country’s organization is called) as a writer member.

If you are signed with a publisher other than yourself, then this entity will take over from this point. If you act as your own publisher, then you eventually need to establish a publishing company. The rules for each PRO are slightly different from one another but member services personnel will walk you through the process. Once you have a publishing entity, then register your songs. This can be done online but you will need your co-writer’s publishing information. This is a great reason to keep good records for every song you write.

Copyrighting your songs: When writer’s send ‘copyrighted’ songs for potential publishing opportunities, it’s a deterrent for the publisher. If you have copyrighted your songs, then you shouldn’t be pitching them to publishers ~ it’s costly to you, jams up the Library of Congress with unnecessary requests, and slows the process for songs that need to be registered with the LOC because they are out in the market place (in the form of cuts). If a publisher signs a copyrighted song, they have to undo & redo the copyright, as it is no longer valid. This creates extra paperwork, takes valuable time and is costly. Don’t take my word; do some research and ask others who are ‘in the know’. Asking questions, no matter how uninformed it may make you seem, is always the best way to go. It’s better to seem temporarily stupid by asking than remaining stupid by not….. Technically speaking, if you use a computer, your songs have a date stamp, so you can prove when you wrote it, but here are some tips for good record keeping:
a) make a spreadsheet with the following information: Song Title; DOC (Date of Creation); Co-writers names, PRO & publishing information; etc.
b) make a file on your computer for your songs – within this file you should have the following: a mp3 of the original work tape, an mp3 of the demo (if it’s demoed), a lyric sheet (containing Song Title, Writers names & PRO’s, DOC & any publishing info); a song information sheet.
c) buy an extra Hard Drive to keep in another location (in case of fire or other disaster) and backup weekly or monthly.

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So there you have it.... another publisher saying the same basic thing...... essentially, don't worry that someone is going to steal your song and you will be out in the cold and have no way to prove that you own it..... 

thought you might like to know this  

Thanks Herb. That should clear up a lot of confusion.

Time stamps aren't set in stone, though. They can be changed. Hard drives can crash or get stolen. So the more documentation you can save in various formats the better I guess.
 
 
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soens


Time stamps aren't set in stone, though. They can be changed. Hard drives can crash or get stolen. So the more documentation you can save in various formats the better I guess.
 
 
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absolutely!




Storing songs online also sets a time date stamp in the server.

I'm curious (and maybe this would be more appropriate as a separate thread) what the pros and cons are of joining a PRO.  Are you limited if you join ASCAP?  Is BMI better?  What's SESEC?  Etc.

forgetting the disagreement I have with this in general, let's approach the subject from a different standpoint.

why would I want to give my copyright to a publisher? (even if it meant a recording contract)

do all of the big songwriters do this?  so basically a songwriter who is "signed" doesn't ever retain his/her copyright simply because the publisher "needs" the copyright in order to promote the song?

what does that mean for current songwriters?  take this scenerio as an example:
I want to record a cover of "Old Time Rock n Roll" and put it on my CD with other original songs.  I have to obtain a mechanical license from some representative of Bob Seger  (usually HFA) and pay them for the right to record and distribute the song based on the length of the song and the number of copies I'm making for distribution.

But...wait!  if the publishing companies are the only ones who own the copyrights then I'm not really paying Bob Seger's rep for the use of his song.  I'm actually paying his publishing company because technically ol' Bob doesn't own the copyright! 

I don't understand this philosophy.  I wait to be enlightened.

So... Join the Pro, but DON'T copywrite? The Pro to recoup performance rights when/if it is performed by someone else? And then send to publishers who WILL copywrite? Or have I got it backwards again?? I swear, it looks so simple on paper, but every time I think about it, I get a headache.  And I'm a smart cookie.  So it makes me MAD. LOL!

I ask because just the language itself is confusing.  I've been looking at this on and off for awhile, as you know, because you've so nicely answered question in the past.  I'd rather ask my friend a stupid question than a publishing company who would rather take me for a ride.  ;)

julibee


a publishing company who would rather take me for a ride.  ;)

Mebee it's a nice car though?

At this point in time, having sold virtually no songs in my entire 35 years of playing and writing, I'm happy to have them all downloaded, stolen, bitorrented, hacked, remixed and rehashed as acid-house-be-bop-trance-redneck-reggae-punka-billy dance floor hits.

I could care less I couldn't.

jamesg1213


At this point in time, having sold virtually no songs in my entire 35 years of playing and writing, I'm happy to have them all downloaded, stolen, bitorrented, hacked, remixed and rehashed as acid-house-be-bop-trance-redneck-reggae-punka-billy dance floor hits.

I could care less I couldn't.

I couldn't care less that you could care less.
(enter Straummy)