As far as copyrights go, and if memory serves me right:
I believe the copyright goes into effect at the moment of creation. It doesn’t matter whether the © is on it or not.
Form SR may be the correct form to use, but I always used Form PA for my song copyrights. I do know the two forms are closely related.
As to the “poor man’s copyright”. You send your work to yourself by CERTIFIED MAIL WITH A RETURN RECEIPT and leave it sealed in the envelope.
I used to do this all the time, but I don’t bother with it anymore. If you play your music for others to hear, then do the “poor man’s copyright” if you think someone might copy your stuff and beat you to the copyright office with it. If two people try to copyright the same song, the one who gets to the copyright office first is the winner. BUT! Don’t expect it to hold up in a court of law, because I’m not sure it will. That’s why you should ALSO REGISTER YOUR WORK WITH THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE! THE POOR MAN’S COPYRIGHT ALONE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! It’s ok to do both, but it’s not ok to not register your work with the © office. And besides, it only costs like $30.
If you decide to send in your work, I suggest you send in both a recording and something on paper even if it’s only the lyrics and chords. The notes would be fine too. You can write it by hand if you want, and they’ll accept it. This is just in case something happens to your recording over time. Use © for the stuff on paper (sheet music or whatever). And (P) on your recordings.
There’s no such thing as “copyright protection”. But it will establish you as the creator of the work and it takes effect the day it reaches the © office, not the day the copyright is issued months later. And it will hold up in a court of law.
And one last thing. You may want to send it by UPS or any service where you can track it. This way you’ll know it got there in a short space of time, or you’ll spend months waiting to find out. Send it, and once it gets there, it’s yours! Don’t send it to them by certified mail with a return receipt, because IF you ever get the receipt back, it will take weeks or months. That’s IF you get it back. I’m still waiting for the last one I sent in around 1 ½ years ago. But that’s ok because I already got the copyright.
I hope that helps,
Phil