| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
enthuTIMsiast
Alien Abductee
6990 Posts |
 Posted - 11/26/2002 : 9:47:10 PM
|
First I'll tell you why. The song by KC and Jo Jo that I'm sure you all have heard: All My Life (I think that's the name - it was their big hit) was written by my coworkers son! There was some sort of contest or something in his area and he submitted it and heard nothing. Then a while later, he got a complimentary cd in the mail with a thank you note and that's all. Yep, nothing else. And, since he hadn't copyrighted the song, he had no recourse.
My suggestion is for you all to copyright your songs. But I know you won't do that, so here's what you can do:
Print out the songs you've written (whether you sing them, play them, or both, and even if you've just written them and don't play them). Take them to a notary republic and get them notarized. That might cost you two dollars. I don't know really. Then put each song or piece of work in an envelope, mail it to yourself, and keep it unopened. I think it's a good idea to do each song separately because that way, if you ever have to open one, the other will still be postmarked.
I'm not sure how much that will cost you. Maybe $5 or something. However, if you ever hear one of your songs being done by someone else, you can clean up, legally.
I, of course, don't write songs, so this information is of no use to me. But I do know there are people here who do, and I think it's a great idea to protect yourself inexpensively.
Incidentally, the song Layla by Eric Clapton...well, you guessed it...it's by a guy named Bobby Whitlock from Oxford (I've made many pairs of glasses for him). Now he might have gotten some credit for it, I don't know about that ... but anyway ... He may have just given it to EC since BW sucks in the music field.
Ok, well there's my advice, take it or leave it. |
Tim Reynolds Downloads
I am not the albatross of love, I am the human ellipsis. I am dot dot dot. - Leo Kottke
I hate beating people over the head with anything. We can all make up our own minds. What we don’t have is enough music. More music please. - Leo Kottke |
|
|
pcbTIM
Alien Abductee
USA
6501 Posts |
Posted - 11/26/2002 : 9:55:57 PM
|
| Wow.......that's amazing. If I ever decide to commit myself to write a song, I'll be sure to do that. |
Gay marriage killed the dinosaurs. |
 |
|
|
{=HTG=}
Alien Abductee
USA
2342 Posts |
Posted - 11/26/2002 : 10:52:43 PM
|
Shoot, if that happened to me, i'd probably snap.....  |
'HTG, are you a cute girl?'
 |
|
|
|
SpaceMonkey
Chatterbox
315 Posts |
Posted - 11/26/2002 : 11:00:30 PM
|
| Yeah, I learned this lesson the hard...."U Can't Touch This"? That was all me. |
|
|
|
pcbTIM
Alien Abductee
USA
6501 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2002 : 12:10:16 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceMonkey
Yeah, I learned this lesson the hard...."U Can't Touch This"? That was all me.
No kidding? I was the "I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt" creator. Because I am. |
Gay marriage killed the dinosaurs. |
|
|
|
enthuTIMsiast
Alien Abductee
6990 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2002 : 6:51:46 PM
|
| Just a bump cause I'd like GuitarGuyAdam to see this, cause I know he writes some songs... I'm sure there are others. |
Tim Reynolds Downloads
I am not the albatross of love, I am the human ellipsis. I am dot dot dot. - Leo Kottke
I hate beating people over the head with anything. We can all make up our own minds. What we don’t have is enough music. More music please. - Leo Kottke |
|
|
|
Erich
Fluffy-Esque
USA
1427 Posts |
|
|
GuitarGuy305
Alien Abductee
USA
2007 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2002 : 10:22:31 PM
|
Hey enthuTIMsiast, I appreciate the thoughts. It is really good advice to copyright your music. I haven't quite gotten to that point yet, I mean, i've been recording, etc... but I haven't gotten anything copyrighted. That is number one on my to-do-before-sending-my-demo-anywhere list.
That poor man's copyright stuff is good advice too, but I have also heard that if you want a solid court case in a copyright suit, you should get your songs copyrighted the official way. You have to get the proper form from the Register of Copyrights in D.C., and pay the filing fee, which is currently $30. So, for a 3 song demo, you're looking at $90, because you can only do one song per form if you really want it to stand up in a court case.
Getting songs copyrighted can be expensive for a working musician with a day job, but like you say, it's better to do it now and shell out a few bucks, than to not do it and hear your song on the radio down the road and have no recourse.
Again, thanks for the info, and for letting anyone else know about this. Because copyright infringement, or the lack of a copyright, is just one of an unlimited number of ways you can get screwed in the music industry.
Adam
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
A friendly suggestion to my songwriting friends.
