Music Copyright For Artists

Music Copyright for Artists: Legal Realities vs. Producer Myths

I remember being in my first band, aged about 17 and super excited as the owner of a label had said he’d be interested in us putting out a record with him. We had a meeting, in which the guy came up with a brilliant line: “I may be a scumbag, but it’s MR Bag to you!”

Now, we may have been young and dumb but that gem of a line may have had some influence on us as kids immediately thinking we should probably copyright our songs - right now. But how?

The Myth of "Poor Man's Copyright"

The urban myth back in the day went that you could mail yourself a copy of your music, not open the envelope and that was "poor man’s copyright". I read this same statement on a well-meaning Facebook group YESTERDAY, so let’s clear that up ASAP.

The government’s position on this is clear: “There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration” - so you can stop doing THAT!

Since one of us kids had been reading Donald J Passman’s book instead of doing their homework, we knew this and decided to send a copy to the US Library Of Congress for archival. Today, it costs $55 a song for multiple writers, or $35 for a single writer. You can do it online directly at www.copyright.gov.

In the UK and most other countries, the best way is to just register with a PRO (Performing Rights Organisation), and to actually record the songs. The law is a tricky thing, however. Even that official registration is only a technical point, which may offer you some leverage should a lawsuit ever arise.

When Does a Song Officially Become Copyrighted?

Here’s the actual lowdown: According to copyright law, the composer owns the copyright to a composition as soon as it is fixed in a tangible medium (written down or recorded).

That means for this audience, seeing as most of you will be recording your music, it is copyrighted the moment you do, so you can go ahead and release it, which is actually the best protection. If you were worried, and not ready to release, or were a songwriter, you could even upload it to YouTube as an unlisted video. This digital timestamp is just as effective as any archaic method.

Music Law, Infringement, and Content Protection

The problem is society is extremely litigious (meaning people will sue you for literally anything, like serving coffee that is “too hot”), so that’s why major record labels won’t even accept unsolicited demos from independent artists most of the time.

Out there somewhere, there is Paranoid Pete. If Pete sent his brilliant creation with a standard 1-4-5 chord progression to Universal Music Group, he would then doubtless try to sue should another artist put out a song with the same progression 100 times a day.

The reality is you tend to find the more paranoid people are of people “stealing their track,” the less likely they are to have either written a good song or to do anything with it—which is the death knell for anyone’s career. Protect yourself, but get on with it. I have even seen people not wanting to send tracks to be mixed for this reason. Those people don’t tend to get much done, strangely enough!

Intellectual Property Lessons from "Blurred Lines"

You can look at that whole Blurred Lines scenario. Despite the might of Universal Music, whoever runs Marvin Gaye Inc. got a cool $5M+ because a judge decided that Pharrell Williams borrowed from it too heavily. Did he or didn’t he? Who knows.

You can bet your ass a copy of Blurred Lines sits in the Library of Congress. He could have just got sample clearance, credited the copyright owners, and saved a lot of hassle if he did—because the section in question has a hundred times better groove than Blurred Lines!

I do know that somewhere right now in LA there is a room of writers listening to the top 20 ripping off current tracks, and I have even sat in a room with a famous producer seeing him do the exact same thing so I can’t be too sorry about the whole thing. Before I go, a couple more things I see people asking all the time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Music Copyright

Can I use my stage name or alias for performance royalties?

When you register with your Performing Rights Society (like PRS, ASCAP, or BMI), you have the option of listing your aliases or stage name so your performance royalties get picked up correctly. However, if you look at official writing credits for Jay-Z, for example, we see his legal name, Shawn Carter, listed. In fact, if you were ever curious about anyone’s real name just look at the metadata credits. It’s not really a surprise that Jay-Z sampled William (Billy) Squier, but some others you might find can be surprising!

What about music piracy and illegal downloads?

Many international territories either ignore or loosely enforce intellectual property rights, so copyright law can feel a bit theoretical anyway. Whether it’s counterfeit goods, physical bootleg CDs, or a rogue MP3 site, piracy isn't going away soon.

I put out a record recently for an artist that is super obscure, and sure enough, the day or two after release, the top listed item on a Google search for the album title was a pirate site, not an iTunes or Amazon listing.

Key Takeaways for Protecting Your Music:

• Fix the Medium: Ensure your song is recorded or bounce a rough demo to create an immediate, timestamped audio file.

• Register with a PRO: Join PRS for Music (UK), ASCAP, or BMI (USA) to register your song titles and legal split sheets for performance royalties.

• Avoid the Mail Myth: Do not rely on mailing yourself a copy of your CD or flash drive. "Poor man's copyright" holds zero legal standing in official copyright disputes.

• Release the Track: Commercial distribution creates a public, unarguable paper trail of your intellectual property ownership.

And, as always if YOU need your songs mixing hit me up! This is part of an ongoing series of Articles for Artists. Want more music biz articles? Stay tuned!