What is a copyright? Why do I need one? How do I get one? Questions like this are common, and don't feel stupid if you don't know the answer to one or more of them, the government typically does not go out and make sure you know things, but then why should they? If their people are intelligent, responsible citizens it's the citizen's responsibility to seek knowledge.
The first question is simple to answer, sort of. A copyright is a registration with the Library of Congress that you created a peice of art, a painting, a story, a song, etc. and the year it was created.
Why do you need one? Well that one's not so tough. First off, let's start with what they do....in all actuality the song you wrote with your brother Bill is already under copyright protection, whether it's registered or not, the reason you need one is because you can't sue someone for stealing your song (called an infringement of copyright) without it being registered. Second you have certain rights (though again you have them with or without the registration) that are due to you if someone uses your song. These are divided into sections called licenses, and they usually fall under three categories, though with the advent of computers, the internet and multimedia there may soon be more. These licenses are :Mecanical, Performance, and Synchronization. The Mechanical license is usually the one you'll be most concerned about. In mechanical license, are the rights to reproduce your song on a recorded media, the rights to play them over the radio, and sell them to consumers. usually you have the right allow these things to happen, unless you sign them away to a publisher (We'll cover publishing later) or a record label (We'll cover what labels do also) and are owed a certain amount of royalties. (A royalty is money paid to you for someone using your song in some way or another) The government sets a standard rate, which is often argued for when you sign a contract with a publisher and a record label, and is not usually given to a first time band, songwriter, but is usually substantially lower. (Last time I checked the going rate was 4½ ¢ per record sold, to split with the publisher). You also get royalties whenever your song is played on the radio, or broadcast in some form. That is calculated by a music association like BMI or ASCAP, or one of the others (We'll cover that when we cover publishing)
The Performance right is the right To perform the song for profit. It seems to me that this one is overlooked most of the time, but it is something to consider when you do that Dickies cover. There has also been some arguing in congress over giving royalties to the performers who performed the song for recording royalties too, though as of right now they do not. (If anyone knows any more about this, please let me know.)
The last one is Synchronization, which is the right to put your music to a movie, or television show, or something of that sort. I don't know that this right is heavily fought for by record labels and publishers, though if you keep a good chunck of mechanical license, it's good to give this one away, because the record sales generated from the movie publicity is well worth the loss.
And yet one more question, how long does a copyright last? Well according to the Berne Convention of 1978 a work is copyrighted until 50 years after the death of the last surviving author, before it can go into public domain.
And lastly, How do you get one? Well there are several ways to register with the Library of Congress, or at least several forms to use...We'll go over the two most popular, form PA and form SR.
All you need for form PA is the lyric sheet (If it has lyrics) and a copy of the written score (Note for note, not just a chord chart) and $20 to send to the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
For form SR You need a lyric sheet, $20 and a sound recording of the best quality available to you. (That means if you were in a 24 track studio you have to send them that tape, not the tape of your garage jam session) again to the Library of Congress, Washington DC. Oh, and one more question, I suppose. Where do I get the forms. Well the first place I'd check is your local library, or sometimes your city hall carries them (Neither of mine do), or you can ask a local record label (If you know one) or call BMI, or a publisher...or you can get them directly from the source...the Library of Congress. This is they're mailing address:
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Or...Copyright Office, Library of Comgress All you computer geeks will probably think it's easier just downloading them.
This is by no means a complete document...there's much, much more than this, that I didn't want to put in, lest I bore you to death. For further reading, I would suggest, well I'm sure the Library of Congress has something, but also This Business of Music I can't think of the author or the publisher, but it's a tome chock full o' information, also A Songwriter's Guide to Music Publishing again I don't remember who wrote it, or who published it, but it's a very good book, much easier to read than the other one. Well...See ya next time......
No comments:
Post a Comment