back in the day a mans word and a handshake were all that was needed. Now days, all the details are expanded upon in excruciating detail.

 
The details are the same nowadays in any contract Herb.

Herb, 

Thanks for bringing up an important topic. 

In the past year I've been doing a lot of research and have also talked to other writers and all agree that it's wise to register a business name (LLC) -- publisher/label. This will give the writer(s) / band a much more solid foundation, a rock solid start. 

I want to assure to friends that YES you can update information in regards to song registration with BMI or ASCAP.  I know this because I have also spoken to writer services rep at APRA-AMCOS (Australia)... they said; in the section; Publisher; = {your business name - publisher/label} and YES you can update the details at any time. 

TIPS: 
(1) I recommend joining Affiliate Programs or otherwise known as Partner Programs. When filling out the form in section; label = {your business name} 

IMPORTANT: 
All legit Affiliate Programs are FREE, thereby I strongly advise to everyone; do not get sucko'd into paying money because that's a tell-tale sign that it's a scam! 

So why the heck join affiliates and partners?, because if you expect to make loads of money on streaming (and without an affiliate plan) then you'll be greatly disappointed. I got a long Email explanation from writer services (APRA-AMCOS) and yes there is not much anyone can do about this issue (very low rate % on streaming/plays), seriously the fact is; APRA-AMCOS, BMI, ASCAP are not to blame..... the Internet is like the wild west and IMO more needs to be done (improved)! Meanwhile; affiliate program came about to help small businesses (labels) make money! Remember; there's a lot of labels own by independent bands and they are all trying to make a profit or at the very least break even. 

(2) Retailers - Your Choice; that right; when you sign up with a distributor you have options to NOT include certain retailers such as for example; S-p-o-t-i-f-y and M-y-S-p-a-c-e will publish ALL your song @ full-length streaming and there is not a dang thing you can do about it (you cannot change it) unless of course you decide not to include such sites in your distribution plan beforehand or contact the distributor to request; removal (some sites will charge a removal fee).  You must decide if such sites will benefit you, you need to research and decide for yourself. 

In other examples; some retailers take a much larger slice of the pie (% of sales), again; you need to research all retailers included with the distribution plan before blindly accept them ALL. 

(3) Pre-sales; when you sign up with a distributor it's wise to plan way, way, way, way ahead of time. You have the option to move the release date forward way ahead of time = this allows you plenty of time to gather 'money' and have plenty of 'time' to recheck important things such as; mastering, artwork and music video. I guess you could call this approach; Quality Control that actually Pays LOL!!  

(4) Marketing on a tight budget - it's also important to research marketing strategies and I think one of the most effective and reasonably affordable ones is; Promote it as it will get your business advertised on hugely popular music sites. Read all about it here 

Now that all above is said; I will admit that I made mistakes earlier this year but it's been a learning experience. My mistakes are all due to poor planning and lack of fully understanding in regards to distribution and retailers. 

Honestly I was shocked when I read my first sales statement; music streaming sites tend to fair extremely worse whereas other sites such as; Amazon CD on Demand proved to be really good.  I guess it appears that people still prefer to buy the CD's.  All those streaming sites such as; M-y-S-p-a-c-e and S-P-O-T-I-F-Y are better suited to already established bands (Top 40) although if you have a band that is gigging + lots of spare money for advertising and marketing then I guess you may do a heck of a lot better on those sites. 

A lot has changed particularly in regards to the Internet --- there are great opportunities but there are probably more cons, and viruses too. Dang it!! 

Anyway, I sincerely wish ALL of you great success! 

Songcraft...100% agreed yes. you can update the PRO info. Many songs are registered by writers with no publishing deal and then later if a pub signs it that pub/writer split must be adjusted to reflect the new publisher....so the publisher gets paid for performance royalties.

In the PRO song registration section... they allocate 100% to writers for writers share and 100% to publishers for publishers share. All songs when registered with the PRO  (BMI in my case) must show a total of 200% share.  

The math is a bit convoluted but not that hard to follow. 

So an example: Two writers on a song no publisher.... each writer gets 50% of writers share and (with no publisher signed)  50% of publisher's share for a total of 100% each and a total of 200% as BMI sees it. In reality it is 100% of the royalties earned. Split 50/50 pub/writer share. 

These same 2 writers sign it to a publisher at a later date. They adjust the registration with BMI. (Takes a few minutes max online in the writer's BMI account)  Publisher gets assigned 100% of the publisher's share (assuming one publisher) and writers continue to split 100% of  the writers share for a net total of 50/50 each of the writers share or looking at it another way... 25% of song royalties to each of  the writers.

If at some point the writers decided to rewrite the song to include another writer, that adjustment is also very easy to make in the PRO account. You can add more parties to either side of the PRO registration at any time.


Copyright does not work that way.... a new copyright must be filed each time a change is made to add writers or to transfer ownership, referencing the old registration, and upon acceptance into the LOC the most recent copy on file takes legal precedence. 

As long as one understands that a copyright registration and a PRO registration are two totally different things and serve two different purposes ... you're on the right track. 

Much of this discussion is based on the idea that a legitimate publisher will never steal your material, and that you are only dealing with legitimate publishers, and only they will see your material. The underlying assumption (in reality probably correct most of the time) is that your material is not worth stealing unless it is represented/owned by a legitimate publisher anyway. In the model of the songwriter who more or less works for/with a single publisher as the primary conduit of his work to the public this should be fine. 

In the internet posting happy world of modern musician/composers, where your material may be exposed to many thousands of potentially illegitimate eyes/ears, and rendered subject to compulsory licensing as a result of being de facto published as a phonorecord via CD's sold out of your van at the concert or MP3's uploaded to sharing sites, the security gained by copyrighting your work yourself before giving it a lot of exposure may make a lot of sense. For one thing, without a registered copyright, you cannot win legal costs in a dispute, even if you win the suit. Obviously illegitimate publishers (pirates?) would not want you to have a copyright for that and other reasons. 

It is not necessary under law to prove that you wrote your song at a certain date, or even that identical material did not exist prior to your writing, only that it is your original work. In practice this is hard to do if it sounds exactly like a popular song that was available when you try to copyright it. In practice that might make a successful pirate more likely to win a suit against the legitimate owner if the pirate gets his goods to market first. The author would have to prove he had not copied his work from the pirate. Much easier (and cheaper) to do if the copyright is registered before the theft can occur. 

But again, almost every singer/songwriter will be wasting his time and money protecting his intellectual property, since almost all of it has no market value at all, unless it is taken over by corporate music. And most of it never will be.

But again, almost every singer/songwriter will be wasting his time and money protecting his intellectual property, since almost all of it has no market value at all, unless it is taken over by corporate music. And most of it never will be.

 
I agree with you up to there.Good points.

@ Herb and Slart 

Copyright is automatic, there is NO registration system of copyright, NO fees, NO BS. That's according to official Australian documents: PDF Format ((there is also a lot of details in regards to all sorts of copyright information in that document that applies to most countries)) 

Well anyway that's how it should be; once the material is created usually the 'work(s)' is produced on any one or more of various media formats/files such as .wav, CD, MP3 and usually published online. That is effectively 'automatic copyright'....  

... and in fact before you upload your work to music sites they usually ask for example; copyrights; is this your own original work (or whatever wording the site uses along those lines)

What I strongly recommend to professional independent bands/writers is to register their own business (Label/Publishing) and in doing so does not hinder the process of signing to a major. 

-

So no need to mail it to yourself (to get the date stamp) and leave it unopened, eh?

craigb


So no need to mail it to yourself (to get the date stamp) and leave it unopened, eh?

When I was really young (17) I actually done just that and the post office mildly-reprimanded me for doing that by saying; I'm not suppose to do that! LOL!! Anyway.... I got the parcel but that's the last time I ever sent a parcel to myself. 


Nowadays I might send an Email to myself (to check the system when I have created a new account and/or when syncing) I suppose they don't like that either huh *Doh*  


.

SongCraft

craigb


So no need to mail it to yourself (to get the date stamp) and leave it unopened, eh?

When I was really young (17) I actually done just that and the post office mildly-reprimanded me for doing that by saying; I'm not suppose to do that! LOL!! Anyway.... I got the parcel but that's the last time I ever sent a parcel to myself. 


Nowadays I might send an Email to myself (to check the system when I have created a new account and/or when syncing) I suppose they don't like that either huh *Doh*  


.

Well, if you had put postage on it, you can do anything you want!
 
Of course, when we were young and stupid I used to send mail to a friend a couple blocks away by putting his address as the return address and forgetting the stamp (it always got there - lol).

Copyright is automatic, there is NO registration system of copyright, NO fees, NO BS. That's according to official Australian documents:

Sorry, I forget that this is an international forum. Copyright law is specific to each nation, and harmonized for international law, mainly through the Berne Convention. Under US law, the copyright is also automatic and commences at the time the creative work is fixed in permanent form (written down, photographed, recorded etc.). The salient point in the document you reference is:


"How do I prove Iʼm the copyright owner if thereʼs no registration system?
If thereʼs a dispute about who created something protected by copyright, it may need to be
resolved by a court."


The clear problem with not having a registration system, is that it requires what the legal profession calls a lying contest, and what the lay public calls a lawsuit without clear evidence, to resolve disputes. 

Under US law no suit can be brought unless the copyright is registered with the Copyright Office. That registration can be done after infringement of the work has occurred, but there are major advantages to doing so earlier. 

From the equivalent document from the US Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf:

"Even though registration is not a requirement for
protection, the copyright law provides several inducements
or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make registration.
Among these advantages are the following:
• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright
claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration
is necessary for works of U. S. origin.
• If made before or within five years of publication, registration
will establish prima facie evidence in court of
the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in
the certificate.
• If registration is made within three months after publication
of the work or prior to an infringement of the work,
statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to
the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an
award of actual damages and profits is available to the
copyright owner.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record
the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection
against the importation of infringing copies."


Apparently under Australian law, in the absence of a registration system, the author is given the automatic protection of being able to claim legal fees in addition to damages if he prevails in a law suit. In the US, where legal costs often dwarf potential damages, the ability to make the loser pay your costs removes a strong disincentive to going up against a rich opponent. 


US law provides that "statutory damages" can be awarded to the author in the case of infringement of a timely registered copyright. Proving that you as an author actually would have profited by a certain amount had the infringement not occurred is problematic. In the case of a misuse of your work, like the use of your creation to promote a hate group, the actual monetary loss to your potential profit may be minimal. Statutory damages are the source of the appallingly unjust multi-million dollar verdicts against individuals who downloaded pirated mp3's achieved by the RIAA here. They can clearly be a strong deterrent to infringement. I do not find any "statutory damages" in a brief review of the Australian law, although the court is given considerable latitude to assess damages aside from actual loss of profits to the owner by the infringement.