Copyrighting songs if you don't have enough money?

[kratos]

Basically Ive made up to 50 instrumentals which i might either record a song over or sell them.
I know i cant copyright all of them as itll cost $1000s since i think its $35 per song to copyright since i dont have much money to spare (I am a student!).

If i sell them on itunes or CDbaby, do i need to copyright my songs then (stupid question lol) or if i just give away my music for free download, is it still worth copyrighting??

I think ive read somewhere if you make an original piece of music its legally yours and you dont need to copyright it. Can some one please clarify this?

 

[TimOBrien]

Go back and read the rules at copyright.gov

You can copyright a whole COLLECTION for $35, not just individual songs.

 

[Chili]

Basically Ive made up to 50 instrumentals which i might either record a song over or sell them.
I know i cant copyright all of them as itll cost $1000s since i think its $35 per song to copyright since i dont have much money to spare (I am a student!).

If i sell them on itunes or CDbaby, do i need to copyright my songs then (stupid question lol) or if i just give away my music for free download, is it still worth copyrighting??

I think ive read somewhere if you make an original piece of music its legally yours and you dont need to copyright it. Can some one please clarify this?

You should register the copyright if you're selling them or even offering them for free. You can do it all as one collection and pay the fee one time. 50 songs in one collection and register it one time and pay only $35. Then, if someone wants to use one of your beats/intrumentals, you would refile for that one song and separate it out from the collection. I'm not sure how that is done, but I know it can be done.

The one caveat with filing as a collection is the songwriter(s) have to be the same for every song in the collection. If all the songs are done solely by you with the exception of one where you had a collaborator, that one song cannot be part of the collection.

You are correct with your last statement. As soon as you put your song into a tangible form (on paper, cd, tape, wav file, etc) it is copyrighted and you are the owner. If someone wrote the song with you, then you share that copyright with that person. When you file the copyright, all you're doing is registering that ownership.

hope this helps.

 

[Mindset]

Go back and read the rules at copyright.gov

You can copyright a whole COLLECTION for $35, not just individual songs.

While you can copyright a whole collection of material on a single cd, once you take one piece of material out of the cd to be sold/leased or whatever the case may be, that particular piece will have no copyright protection on it. Copyrighting a whole selection will only give you rights to its original form in its original medium (the whole cd itself). When your selling material, and you hold your own catalogs, place songs you are trying to sell or are about to sell into the catalog and copyright them. By case basis.

As for the material being instantly copyrighted, it is true. HOWEVER, its your word against whoever.. Registering it with the government, gives you the government to back you up in any case.

 

[Chili]

While you can copyright a whole collection of material on a single cd, once you take one piece of material out of the cd to be sold/leased or whatever the case may be, that particular piece will have no copyright protection on it. Copyrighting a whole selection will only give you rights to its original form in its original medium (the whole cd itself). When your selling material, and you hold your own catalogs, place songs you are trying to sell or are about to sell into the catalog and copyright them. By case basis.

I think you're confused between filing a collection using the PA form and filing an SR form for a cd. What you're describing sounds like an SR filing. But the OP can file the collection using the PA form. If he needs to license one song out of that collection, there's a way to pull and refile for that song only, but I'm not sure how it's done. Maybe a supplementary for the collection and a new filing for the individual song.

I know you know more about this stuff than I do, I think you just misunderstood what we were suggesting.

For the OP, this is a good read.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf

peace,

 

[RRuskin]

I think you're confused between filing a collection using the PA form and filing an SR form for a cd. What you're describing sounds like an SR filing. But the OP can file the collection using the PA form. If he needs to license one song out of that collection, there's a way to pull and refile for that song only, but I'm not sure how it's done. Maybe a supplementary for the collection and a new filing for the individual song.

I know you know more about this stuff than I do, I think you just misunderstood what we were suggesting.

For the OP, this is a good read.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf

peace,

The SR form can be used to copyright a sound recording and the compositions contained therein. The copyright claimant(s) need only to declare on the form that the recorded performances and the underlying works are both being registered.

 

[Chili]

The SR form can be used to copyright a sound recording and the compositions contained therein. The copyright claimant(s) need only to declare on the form that the recorded performances and the underlying works are both being registered.

Thanks, yes, I knew that. But it doesn't pertain to the OP's situation which I was trying to offer a suggestion.

peace,

 

[RRuskin]

Thanks, yes, I knew that. But it doesn't pertain to the OP's situation which I was trying to offer a suggestion.

peace,

How does it not apply to the OP's situation? He wants protection for everything as inexpensively as possible. A form SR will do it for either a published or unpublished work.

 

[Chili]

How does it not apply to the OP's situation? He wants protection for everything as inexpensively as possible. A form SR will do it for either a published or unpublished work.

Well, I guess I'm making an assumption when the OP says he wants to "sell" his instrumentals that he means he wants to license them to other people to rap/sing over top. If he ever does license a song to someone, he would have to separate that out from the collection. I don't think he could do that if he filed with an SR form. The SR form covers the series of sounds on a phonorecord and in doing so, it also covers the songs themselves. But I think the songs become part of the phonrecord and are not individually registered.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'll admit, I'm not an expert here, just did a lot of reading.

 

[RRuskin]

Well, I guess I'm making an assumption when the OP says he wants to "sell" his instrumentals that he means he wants to license them to other people to rap/sing over top. If he ever does license a song to someone, he would have to separate that out from the collection. I don't think he could do that if he filed with an SR form. The SR form covers the series of sounds on a phonorecord and in doing so, it also covers the songs themselves. But I think the songs become part of the phonrecord and are not individually registered.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'll admit, I'm not an expert here, just did a lot of reading.

1. The SR form will cover both the actual recording and the underlying compositions provided that the copyright claimant states that registration for both is being applied for.
2. You are confusing licensing with assignment. If all the work is registered under 1 copyright, it would be difficult, if not impossible to assign the copyright of anything other than the entire work to another entity. Licensing any given tune is another matter and no problem at all.

 

[Mindset]

1. The SR form will cover both the actual recording and the underlying compositions provided that the copyright claimant states that registration for both is being applied for.
2. You are confusing licensing with assignment. If all the work is registered under 1 copyright, it would be difficult, if not impossible to assign the copyright of anything other than the entire work to another entity. Licensing any given tune is another matter and no problem at all.

exactly what I was trying to say

 

[Mindset]

I think you're confused between filing a collection using the PA form and filing an SR form for a cd. What you're describing sounds like an SR filing. But the OP can file the collection using the PA form. If he needs to license one song out of that collection, there's a way to pull and refile for that song only, but I'm not sure how it's done. Maybe a supplementary for the collection and a new filing for the individual song.

I know you know more about this stuff than I do, I think you just misunderstood what we were suggesting.

For the OP, this is a good read.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf

peace,

Yah when your pulling a song out, all you do is refile copyright.& yah I was assuming as well lol