Dear ceknox1-ga
Thanks for your questions. For some reason, I love copyright
questions, but I'm in no way an expert. I'd like to mention from the
start that I am not a lawyer, and the following in no way consists of
legal advice. I gathered information from the US Copyright Office and
others in order that you could make some decisions about copyright and
cutting your CD. I have placed your own questions in uppercase letters
at the head of each section of my answer.
1) WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR COPYRIGHTING AND PROTECTING ONE'S SONGS?
First off, the copyright of a musical composition is fixed in the name
of the composer or composers as soon as it is written down or
recorded. However, it is recommended that you register the copyright
with the US copyright office. In the words of the US Copyright
Office:
"Under the present copyright law, which became effective Jan. 1, 1978,
a work is automatically protected by copyright when it is created. A
work is created when it is ?fixed? in a copy or phonorecord for the
first time. Neither registration in the Copyright Office nor
publication is required for copyright protection under the present
law"
also
"There are, however, certain advantages to registration, including the
establishment of a public record of the copyright claim."
www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf (page 1)
For each composition you (1) fill out the standard Form PA; (2)
enclose a copy of the CD of your song: (3) send in a fee of $30. You
can register multiple copyrights at the same time and enclose one CD
of all the songs.
Your copyright is registered from the day the Copyright Office gets
the application form(s); you don't have to wait until the application
is processed.
www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf (see page 2 for a full outline of
registration procedures)
"A copyright registration is effective on the date the Copyright
Office receives all the required elements in acceptable form,
regardless of how long it then takes to process the application and
mail the certificate of registration. "
www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf (page 6)
To get the application form, go to the US Copyright Office web site (
http://www.copyright.gov/forms/ ) and click on Form PA--just a little
way down from the top of the page.
DOES REGISTERING WITH ASCAP TAKE CARE OF THAT OR IS THAT ANOTHER MATTER ENTIRELY?
It is another matter entirely.
ASCAP (the American Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers)
is an organization that collects royalties on the performance of
published compositions and pays them back to its members.
From their website:
"ASCAP is a membership association of over 230,000 U.S. composers,
songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind of music."
ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing
royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their
copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform
copyrighted music publicly."
http://www.ascap.com/about/
You can join ASCAP as a writer, a publisher, or both if you meet the
eligibility requirements. There's no cost to join and no annual fees.
The only requirement for membership is that you are a "writer or
co-writer of a musical composition or a song that has been:
* commercially recorded (CD, record, tape, etc.);
* or, performed publicly in any venue licensable by ASCAP (club,
live concert, symphonic concert or recital venue, college or
university, etc.);
* or, performed in any audio visual or electronic medium (film,
television, radio, Internet, cable, pay-per-view, etc.);
* or, published and available for sale or rental."
http://www.ascap.com/about/howjoin.html
You can download application forms at the above website by clicking on
"writer applicants" about half-way down the page.
BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) also represents composers. From their website:
"BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents
more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all
genres of music."
http://www.bmi.com/about/
A BMI application information can be found at:
https://applications.bmi.com/affiliation/joinen.aspx
DO WE COPYRIGHT SPECIFIC SONGS BY WHOMEVER IN THE BAND WROTE IT... OR
CAN WE GIVE THE WHOLE BAND CREDIT ON ALL THE SONGS
EVEN IF A PARTICULAR PERSON WAS THE PRIMARY AUTHOR?
You must complete a separate copyright registration application for
each work, but you can submit all the applications together with one
CD containing all the compositions. There can be one or several
composers named for any composition.
"Separate applications for several works may be accompanied by one
phonorecord containing all the works. Registration generally covers
only the material that is deposited for registration, even though the
copyright law automatically gives copyright protection to all
copyrightable authorship that is fixed in a copy or phonorecord."
www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf (page 4)
I HAD HEARD THAT YOU CAN ONLY PROTECT A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SONGS PER
RELEASE. THIS SOUNDS DUBIOUS. ANY TRUTH?
No. The Copyright Office will accept as many songs as you register at one time.
2)WITH REGARDS TO THE ONE COVER SONG... WHO DO WE LET KNOW THAT WE'RE
COVERING THE SONG? THE ORIGINAL ARTIST'S RECORD COMPANY? ASCAP? BMI?
You have to get permission from the original artist's publisher. From
the Beatnik Turtle Indie Band Survival Guide:
"If you have covers on an album, you have to pay fees.
"There are many copyright issues and fees involved with recording a
cover song and placing it on your album. However, it certainly can be
done. You just need to be careful and diligent in doing this legally."
http://www.beatnikturtle.com/index.php?id=543
What that amounts to is getting a license to include the work on the
CD or perform it in public ( i.e. paying a fee to the owner of the
copyright or the original publisher of the work.
ASCAP's explanation of the procedure is a guide to how to do this.
" If you want to make copies of, or re-record an existing record,
tape or CD, you will probably need the permission of both the music
publisher and the record label. A music publisher owns the song (that
is, the words and music) and a record company owns the "sound
recording" (that is, what you hear... the artist singing, the
musicians playing, the entire production).
"If you plan to hire your own musicians and singers and create an
original recording of a copyrighted song, then you need the permission
of only the music publisher. A music publisher owns the song (that
is, the words and music) and a record company owns the "sound
recording" (that is, what you hear... the artist singing, the
musicians playing, the entire production).
http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html (Item #5)
Google Search Strategy
Search terms: copyrighting recorded music
://www.google.com/search?q=copywriting+recorded+music&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Search terms: US copyright office
://www.google.com/search?q=US+copyright+office&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Search terms: cover songs permission
://www.google.com/search?q=cover+songs+permission&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
Here are some other sites that may be of interest to you:
Official Software
http://www.officialsoftware.com/portal/default-osw.asp
Getting Permission
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/IntellectualProperty/permissn.htm
Copyright Circular 1
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html
To sum up all of the above:
1. You copyright your song as soon as you write it down or record it.
(You can put that little c in a circle next to its title right away)
2. To protect yourself, it's a good idea to register your copyright.
That way, no one esle can claim your song (or cover it without a fee
to you)
3. You have to get permission to use someone else's song and usually
pay a fee to do so.
What you are doing sounds exciting, and I wish you lots of luck in
your musical endeavors.
alanna-ga |
