HOW TO COPYWRITE

So, what is a copyright?

We see this word a lot in this business, but do we really understand what it is? It’s like a collection of work where legal rights are granted to the original owners of the work (i.e. you if you were responsible for writing it or composing it–if it is a audio sound copyright), so that they will be protected against infringement, or in laymen’s terms, someone stealing their work after they put their blood and sweat into the literary or artistic work.

So, what exactly are your rights you ask–why go through all of the trouble?

Well, it will be all worth it in the end because legally, it will be yours to do whatsoever you deem necessary with your legally protected work. Below are a few of the fringe benefits, but we encourage you to check out the copyright website (http://www.copyright.gov/) to get more concise data.

-You can perform the work in public, without feeling that someone will steal your work, and if they do, then you may have a legal case.
-You can make copies of the work, because you own it, and as well, you can rent it, sell it or do whatever you want with it, that is legal to do.
Basically, you can let the whole world know that you own it

There are, as with anything, stipulations to your rights, so it is best to do your research and know what they are, but below, we at Grind-Mode.com have compiled a few that we know of, that are possibly the most necessary to know right off the bat:

-Copyrights are not until infinity–meaning, they will expire, but probably not in your lifespan. Work that was created after 1977 will last up until 70 years after the owner of the work is deceased, so this means that you need to do your research to find out how you could possibly pass this work down to your family, if you even are able to do so.
-Then there are statutory licenses–basically this means that there are still things that can affect your copyright from a legal stance, and that although, it is good that your song/music is copy written, there are still things that you would have to do in order to prove that someone stole your work (the main thing is that you’ll have to prove that the person did not come up with the song until after they heard you perform it).

Who should copyright?

If you are a music artist of any sort, and you want to be legally protected, then the answer is you! There is something called a “poor man’s copyright” where you mail your material to yourself and don’t open the package that you’ve mail…but that has a lot of limitations, so the best thing to do would take your $30-35 dollars, and send off those copyright forms, so that you won’t have to worry about someone jacking what is rightfully yours.

How to get started with the Copyright process?

The first step is to visit http://www.copyright.gov/, and browse around to get familiar with their processes, or if you want to just skip this process and go straight to the forms page, then visit http://www.copyright.gov/forms or simply contact the U.S. Copyright office at (202) 707-9100.

Will the music be copy written automatically that go to the lyrics?

No, only the lyrics will be copy written. There are two separate copyrights that need to be obtained; the copyright for musical compositions (music notes–if any, and/or lyrics), or the sound recording (the beats and audio recording).

So both myself and my friend(s) wrote the song and want to copyright it–who is the rightful owner?

The answer is: All of you. You all contributed, so you all own the rights equally, even if you contributed more or less to the song.

Well, we hope that all of this helps, but remember to do your homework. We’ve laid the blueprint, now it is time for you to get to building!  Get the songs together so that you can get your EPK / electronic press kit and publicity, and get to work the legitimate way!