PLEASE NOTE: Recording Lair has no lawyers on staff. The following are generalizations based on our study of copyright law and are not to be construed as legal advice. If you have a question, consult a competent attorney specializing in copyrights and intellectual property law. This page is only a starting point for your copyright questions and is offered as a reference tool only. No information on this page is intended to constitute legal advice or considered a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney.

We have added a few links at the bottom of this page. Those websites go much further in detail on music copyrights than this page.

If you are recording a cover (a song in which you perform another person's composition), then royalties will need to be paid. If the composer has not released the composition then you cannot record and release their work without their permission. If the work has been released you can record your version of the piece, but royalties must be paid. The maximum the composer is allowed to charge is $0.0755 per song. Copyrights can be paid directly to the publisher or through a company such as The Harry Fox Agency.
If the Copyright Office has no information that the author is still alive and it has been 75 years since copyright protection was first granted (or 100 years since the creation of the piece), the piece falls into the public domain. Copyright protection has expired, and the author is presumed dead.

US Copyright law states as soon as you affix your music and lyrics in a tangible medium it is afforded copyright protection. The problem is proving you own the copyrights in a court of law. The traditional "poor man's" method is to send yourself a copy of your music registered mail - and not open the package when it comes. We would suggest registering your work with the Library of Congress.

To register your music and lyrics, send these three elements in the same envelope:

1. A completed application form
2. A nonrefundable filing fee of $30 for each application
3. Two copies of a non-returnable deposit of the work being registered.

Mail this to:

Register of Copyrights
Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20559

To get the forms contact the copyright office at the above address or call (202) 707-3000 and request forms and instructions PA and SR. These forms are also in Adobe PDF format from the US Copyright Office. (http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms)
To save some money and time you can put several songs on one tape, fill out one form, pay one $30 fee, and register your whole album at once. This collection must be unpublished and assigned one title for the entire collection.
For more in-depth information on several copyright issues we suggest you visit http://www.music-law.com/home.htm

US Copyright Office (Library of Congress: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/

ASCAP (American Society of Composers and Performers): http://www.ascap.com/

BMI: (Broadcast Musicians Incorporated): http://www.bmi.com/

The Harry Fox Agency: http://www.nmpa.org/hfa.html

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