LiveMusic Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 ...do you copyright it? I haven't, just curious. Is it a lot of trouble to copyright? I was just thinking of some poor musician who writes this cool song and plays it at gigs and somebody might steal it if s/he doesn't have it copyrighted. Or is copy-w-r-i-t-e? ------------------ Duke > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 5, 2001 Share Posted October 5, 2001 I always copyrite collections as it is $30.00 a pop. I use form SA but either one will protect the words, melody and music. You can also file another form after you get your SA conformation back and for another $30.00 list each individual song in your copyrite. My girlfriend used to sing demos for a Nashville based songwriter who became a member of a band who's name you would now know. He wrote a little ditty entitled; 'God Bless the USA' and tried to sell it before he copyrited it. Lee Greenwood changed a line or two and put some stops in it and released it as his own and I don't wanna tell you how much cash that song has made (it's enjoyed a recent comeback as you may have noticed). Now this hardly ever happens unless you know someone with the power to steal and release your song, but it most certainly does happen. My sweetie sang that song on tape WAY before it was ever released. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted October 6, 2001 Share Posted October 6, 2001 Form PA (Performing Arts) protects the words and music, specifically the melody and the chord changes. Riffs, basslines, drum beats, etc. cannot be copyrighted. (Imaging someone copyrighting the drum pattern with a snare on 2 and 4 - hmmm...) For SR (Sound Recording) protects the actual recording. This is what you would use in a lawsuit against someone who sampled your song or someone who used it without permission in a commercial or a movie. Your work is copyrighted the instant you write it - nice, huh? - The problem is proving it in court. If you have registered your song, you're covered. Definitely copyright your stuff before you release an album or before you put it online, but don't let the spectre of song theft make you lose sleep at night. It takes a huge amount of promotion to turn a song into a hit, even a GREAT song. It's tempting to worry about someone stealing your song and hitting it big, but that's very unlikely in the real world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted October 6, 2001 Share Posted October 6, 2001 Dan is right, it's SR not SA, haven't copyrited anything in quite some time, but according to BMI, the sound recording copyrite or the sheet music (PA) confirm and protect the words and melody. I figure since my songs exist as recordings but not as sheet music, the SR suits me better. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMan Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: If you have registered your song, you're covered.B] I'm not too sure about this...if your song is desired by an unscrupulous big money concern (there aren't many of those around, are there?) they could just take your tune anyway... since even though you may have it correctly copyrighted... your still need the resources to defend it in court.(most musicians don't have that kind of dough!) "You say you want a revolution?" Support music file sharing! It'll help bring those major label assholes down and democratise the recording industry. http://www.mp3.com/TheBottomFeeders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted October 7, 2001 Share Posted October 7, 2001 I was hung up on this issue for some time, and wrote to a music columnist about it...he replied with a story about how he took the 80s hair band Warrant to court over one of his songs, and they basically ended up@paying him to go away. The upshot of what he said is that with the salaries of record execs being what they are, most of them don`t want the scandal of being accused of a ripoff. In other words, even a serious hit that they`re accused of ripping off isn`t going to be worth jeopardizing their cushy jobs. Conversely, if you`re determined to take the matter to court, you may incur not only the usual legal fees, but you may have to bring in a musicologist to compare the two compositions note for note, and prove that enough similarity exists to make a sound legal case. Needless to say, it`s a hassle. Frankly, copyright only means you filed a certain composition at a certain time. It`s not a guarantee that someone will come out with something that sounds similar on a major label, and you can be confident about saying, `hey, wait a minnit...` I mean, the secrecy around some major releases these days makes the C.I.A. look like amatuers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted October 9, 2001 Share Posted October 9, 2001 I might just add a little note to this...some time ago a lot of people got a quickie copyright of sorts, by putting copies of their songs in a letter and mailing it to themselves. That is NOT recommended as good legal protection. If someone suggests that, just ignore it-it`s worth doing right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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