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LISCENCING HELP PLEASE hi guys,
i'll keep it simple: i'm releasing an album soon and i have a couple questions about Copyright procedure and publishing. I've taken a few classes on these topics but that was a year or two ago so i need to be refreshed. here are my questions: 1.) I need an SR form (copyright) right? will this copyright everything included in that release (sound, lyrics, images, name)? or will i need to copyright EVERYTHING piece by peice? (artist name/alias, song lyrics, image, logo, album etc)...how much will this cost me and what is the procedure? will i have to copyright everey work after that? 2.) how exactly does ASCAP work...i know its a one time fee but (again)will i have to register everey work after that? or just stamp on the name of my company?...in the case of royalties (if ever needed) how exactly does ASCAP track when and where you are played? 3.) is there any advice you can offer to someone trying to take a serious plunge/start into the independent music scene? do any of you work with tunecore and/or itunes? thank you. | |
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nobody knows what im reffering to huh?  | |
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1) As soon as you have "fixed" your work into a copy, e.g. recorded your song on tape or wrote the notes and lyrics down on paper, it is already copyright protected.
NO LEGAL NEED OR OBLIGATION to register it to have it copyright protected. However, registering is helpfull in case you have to sue somebody (allows for statutory damages and attorney fees) or in case you need to prove that you created the work (first). Go to http://www.copyright.gov/ and find out how to register your work with the US copyright office. Your question is answered here: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-register.html#multiple
May I register more than one work on the same application? Where do I list the titles? You may register unpublished works as a collection on one application with one title for the entire collection if certain conditions are met. It is not necessary to list the individual titles in your collection. Published works may only be registered as a collection if they were actually first published as a collection and if other requirements have been met. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Registration Procedures.” BTW. names generally can not be copyrighted, but trademarked only. 2) ASCAP needs to know what songs you are the author of, or they can't collect and pay you the royalties. Joining ASCAP however only becomes really interesting when your work is played on the airwaves a lot. They use playlists of radio stations for example to assess how much your song has been publicly performed. They do NOT however have a transparant method to determine how much royalties you should get. It's basically a pretty "shadowy" organisation. Go to www.ascap.com for more info, if the site works that is... BTW you could also join BMI. 3) One word of advice: don't just sign anything they offer you, thinking you will lose that one big chance if you don't sign it. Study a contract carefully, get proper legal advice and don't sign when you know it's not what you want. - [Edited 11/17/08 9:51am] | |
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