Hi Dennis,

The link below contains the main facts that drive copyright in the US. I'd imagine that this is not so different in most countries (it certainly isn't in Australia).

http://www.tunecore.com/guides/sixrights

As I understand copyright, when one posts an original song on Soundcloud, Youtube, etc., it is considered "published" and the act posting estabilishes the poster as the owner.

As added protection, when I have a collection of 6 to 10 new songs, I register them online with the US Copyright Office as a collection. This is the cheap way of doing things. A collection of songs (up to 10, I think) costs around $35.

http://www.copyright.gov/

The Copyright Office issues a receipt and catalogue number when the fee is paid. This is legal proof of that the song belongs to you. If anyone should infringe your copyright then the Copyright Office's registration is able to be used in a court of law to clearly establish your ownership. Once you have that number, you can post freely. (I also register the song with my local PRO.)

On the downside, once a song is published, anyone is free to use that song, without permission, provided they pay the necessary royalities. If a song is unpublished and has never been performed in public, on the other hand, the songwriter has complete control over who first gets to record or perform the song. After that first recording or performance, the song is considered published and the writer no longer has a say in who can or cannot use it.

I've been where you're presently at in relation to copyright. My view these days is that "you've gotta be in it to win it". I know that if my songs are left sitting here on my computer, NOTHING will happen to them. That's guaranteed! By posting them around on multiple sites, maybe someone will stumble across one of them and like it enough to do something with it. I make sure that I'm easily found should that ever happen. For what it's worth, I once had a song picked up by a publisher who was searching American Song Space for new material.

Hope these thoughts give you some added insight.

All the best,
Noel

P.S. Keep in mind that none of what I said will stop someone from stealing some or all of a song. It gives some protection. The world is a big place, though, and I might never know if someone in Iceland has passed off a song of mine as their own! I'm prepared to take that risk.

Last edited by Noel96; 06/28/13 11:57 PM. Reason: fixing 1,000,000 typos
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