Home  |  Artist List  |  Song List  |  About Our Music  |  Info for Artists  |  Resources  |  Contact Us

Copyrighting Your Music

Music / Product Categories
Copyrighting Your Music

Tips on copyright registration of your music

We cannot give legal advice about how to copyright your music, but we have copied the following useful information directly from the U.S. Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov) on 3/25/06:

Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings

For copyright purposes, there is a difference between MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS and SOUND RECORDINGS.

A Musical Composition consists of music, including any accompanying words, and is normally registered as a work of performing arts. The author of a musical composition is generally the composer and the lyricist, if any. A musical composition may be in the form of a notated copy (for example, sheet music) or in the form of a phonorecord (for example, cassette tape, LP, or CD).

A Sound Recording results from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The author of a sound recording is the performer(s) whose performance is fixed, or the record producer who processes the sounds and fixes them in the final recording, or both.

Copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition.

Registration of a Musical Composition and a Sound Recording with a Single Application

Although they are separate works, a musical composition and a sound recording may be registered together on a single application if ownership of the copyrights in both is exactly the same. To register a single claim in both works, complete Form SR. Give information about the author(s) of both the musical composition and the sound recording.

Therefore, when you write a song, you can register your Musical Composition following the instructions on the U.S. Copyright Office page for Performing Arts Works, at http://www.copyright.gov/register/performing.html.  This page also has links for downloading the appropriate forms (Form PA or Short Form PA).

When you make a recording of your song, you can register your Sound Recording following the instructions on the U.S. Copyright Office page for Sound Recordings, at http://www.copyright.gov/register/sound.html.  This page also has links for downloading the appropriate form (Form SR). 

Each application has an application fee of $45 (the fee increased from $30 on July 1, 2006).  As stated above, you can register both the Musical Composition and the Sound Recording together in a single application if you claim ownership to both.  More information is available on the U.S. Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov).

 

Back to the Resources page

Home  |  Radio  |  Privacy Policy  |  Subscribe  |  Contact Us

©2008 Christian Originals™