Copyright woes

[Aaron Bitman]

I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I'm writing my story anyway in case you might have some input. If nothing else, writing this post may help me to blow off steam.

 

Last year, after writing an album of 13 songs, I registered that album and all its songs with copyright.gov, getting a copyright for that album and all its songs, including their composition and performance. Upon getting the copyright, I got ISRC codes for the songs, registered them with BMI, and then published them through CD Baby.

 

This year, while I was working on my second album, I lost my job, and I don't like the idea of having to pay $55 to copyright the new album. Nevertheless, after finishing 14 songs, I went to copyright.gov, where I saw that the law had changed. Now I may register only up to 10 unpublished songs as a collective work. I would need TWO filings to cover 14 songs. (Not only that, but as I perused the site, I thought I saw one mention that the composition and the performance count separately, so one registration would cover only FIVE songs. However, I can't find that page now.)

 

Then I did something foolish. I registered the album with the standard form. It allowed me to enter each of the 14 songs as "Contents Title" and the album title as something else; I forget what, but it may have been something like "Title of Overall Work". I figured that if the standard application allowed me to do that, it must be OK.

 

Well, it's not OK. I talked on the phone with someone at the copyright office, and it looks like I just blew my $55. At most, that application will cover just ONE of my songs when the office gets around to processing it, which I expect will be several months from now. And of course, I can't get my $55 refunded.

 

My inclination, at the moment, is to forget about the copyright. I've never made a penny from my music anyway; all I wanted was to get my music out there for people to hear. I'm thinking I should just give my songs the ISRC codes, register them with BMI if I can, and publish them through CD Baby. Hey, maybe then, once the Copyright Office gets around to my claim, I could claim that my songs are not unpublished, so I MAY use the standard form for the whole album?

 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Aaron Bitman]

<sigh>

 

Okay, I suppose that anyone who read my above post and would have cared enough to reply was wise enough to know not to argue with me; I needed time to get my head on straight. Well, in case you were wondering, sanity prevailed. I realized that I wasn't going to publish my music without a copyright. So I just shelled out the $110 for the TWO copyright application forms for the two halves of my album. It still rankles me, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

 

When the copyright office gets around to processing my claims, several months from now, and it rejects my first copyright claim, I suppose it may let me resubmit it... so maybe I could use it to copyright an entirely DIFFERENT song. Hey, if I'm going to throw away $55, at least I should get SOMETHING for it.

[john]

You made the right choice. I was going to reply but was waiting until I had a chance as I was somewhere with crap internet and often no cell reception for a few days.

 

Copyright is established as soon as you publish. The difference is in the protections and compensation levels you can obtain. I believe that this situation is even more polarised since the changes Trump brought in.... ie to have any legal protection it must be registered.