1. Register a group of unregistered works (up to 10 songs). Melody + Lyrics (sheet music) + MP3 sound recording of each demo.
Form SR, check the box for PA, do not check Published. Sound recordings only. You are establishing date and authorship only. You are protecting from others claiming your work as their own plus protecting your right to the first recording. 3rd party registration services are faster, easier and less expensive.
None of this counts for anything unless you have been ripped off.
2. Work with producers on songs, shop them around to publishers, show them around to industry people, etc etc.
Don't post them publicly anywhere. Your private Soundcloud site is ok—in fact, that's where many want you to list them. The site must be accessible by those with the correct link only; it cannot be searchable.
3. Once the song is ready, (if you as the artist end up recording it), individually register each Sound Recording (Master). In the Sound Recording (Form SR) copyright registration, you can also include the Composition (Performing Arts = Form PA = lyrics and melody) together, and just pay for the 1 registration.
That is your publisher's job. If self-publishing, see my earlier post about a way to register up to 20 items on a single certificate if released at the same time on, say, a CD.
The questions I still have are:
…
(eg. if you wanted to sell the publishing rights to your Composition, but not give up rights to the master?)
It depends. Multiple registrations, each covering different aspects of a recording, are quite common but nothing to worry about now. Should you get to that stage, your attorney should be involved—and yes, you will need one. Should you be so lucky, it could easily be a complex negotiation involving multiple attorneys. If dealing with a major label and you are not an established artist, keeping your Masters will not be an option.
What you do
not do is the old "cheat the LOC" trick of registering multiple works as one—reassigning 'one part only' without including everything can be a mess requiring an expensive legal bill to untangle. Now that it is possible to register multiple works, no one should ever do that again.
3. Do any short-term timelines (or deadlines) play into this? I remember reading something along the lines of "you have 3 months to publish the songs you copyrighted as unregistered works, otherwise you lose the right to litigate on them, if someone infringes them". I've heard conflicting things on this subject.
I hope I've cleared up your confusion on Unpublished Works.
The Feds (US Federal Court System) has long held that no Work is entitled to $$$ till Registered correctly as Published. Period. SCOTUS has ruled that date is the Registered date on the certificate, not the date of creation, postmark or time stamp when received by the LOC. Neither is it when the recording was first released nor when someone covered it. The UK and the EU are the same—we know this because of some well known cases where plaintiffs hoped that they were different.
There are instances where the Feds have held that someone waited way too long to file suit but that has nothing to do with the above. If you know of a violation and decide to wait till more money piles up, you'll be dismissed (
I feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag/Muskrat Ramble). Likewise, the courts don't like to hear of anything over three years old but that's a rule of thumb and it depends on the circumstances (
Feelings was released in 1974 but Albert Morris wasn't sued till 1986 over
Pour Toi).
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