How To Copyright And Publish Songs

When a singer writes the lyrics of a song and also composes its music and gets it recorded, then he owns the copyright of the song. But if the singer records his song for a record company, then in that case the record company owns the copyright of the sound recording.

The song owner is entitled to receive the publishing money that comes from the copyright of the song and people who use his song, pay him to obtain a license from the copyright owner to use the song. Publishing income is usually obtained from four major areas -- performance rights, mechanical rights, printing rights and synchronization.

In order to copyright a song, the song owner must first apply for the relevant forms and get them. The forms needed are a PA form (to copyright performing arts), SR form (to copyright sound recording) and also a CON form.

These forms must be filled out according to the given specifications after carefully reading all the instructions provided. Once the form has been filled up, it must be sent to the copyright office. But before sending the form, you will need to include a non-refundable registration fee of $45, and a non-returnable copy of the manuscript or music CD along with the completed forms. Neatly pack them all and send the packet to the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, S E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.

Remember, it is cheaper to copyright albums of a bunch of songs at a time rather than copyrighting each song individually. So, fill up your forms accordingly. Although it might take about 5 months for the certificate of registration to reach you by mail, but actually your song or album gets registered as soon as the Copyright Office receives your package (they even have a tracking system devised for this purpose).