How to Copyright Your Songs
This, ladies and gents, is more important than it seems. If your tunes are any good, you might find yourself the envy of less accomplished writers. This is a good thing, but it has it’s drawbacks. The main one is being ripped off. This is a bad thing because somebody else is benefiting from your work without you receiving your fair share of the credit. The ‘International Association of Songwriters’ cites a case in their guide where a budding songwriter sent a reputable music publishing company a demo, and some months later, a friend heard the entire first verse in a song on the radio. He had no proof of copyright, and needless to say the publisher had no recollection of the demo. Consequently, he had no case against them.
Getting Ripped Off By Your Mates
This happens more often that not. What can happen is that you play your song or idea to your friend, who is also a budding musician, and they think, “that idea is bloody fantastic”. Then, secretly, they use this idea, and heavily incorporate it into a song of their own. They play this song to lots of people, or record it, but never play it you, or are embarrassed or nervous to do so. This is darn right theft, but, there is a good reason behind it. Everybody is desperate in this game, and sometimes you just have better ideas than others. The feeling of desperation may overcome some people who really struggle with songwriting or creativity, and may lead to them leeching ideas out of frustration. So, the lesson is, be careful, and follow the instructions below.
Copyrighting Made Easy
When you write a song, it is copyrighted automatically as yours. But, from a legal perspective, you have to be able to prove that you wrote your song and when you wrote it.
The easiest, most common, oldest tried and tested way of doing this is super simple:
- Write down your lyrics, and include your name on the same sheet.
- Put in an envelope.
- Include any recordings if you have any.
- Seal the envelope.
- Write your name and address on the front.
- Put a stamp on it and post it to yourself.
The postmark, stamped by the post office, which includes the date, is proof enough in most legal eyes that you wrote the song on or before this date. If you have written a decent tune, this could mean the difference between making money of music, and being ‘oh-so-close’ and bitter for the rest of your days.