Music Copyright Law
Your Exclusive Rights
As a copyright owner you get six exclusive rights.
1. You are the only person who can create copies of your song.
2. You are the only person who can distribute your music.
3. You are the only person who can make derivatives.
4. You are the only person who can display your music.
5. You are the only person who can perform the composition.
6. You are the only person who can perform sound recording of your music.
If someone else wants to do any of these things, they need to get permission from you, and, in most cases, provide some sort of payment.
How to Get Copyright Protection
You can register your song with the Federal Copyright office to own the copyright, the moment you put your song into tangible form (written down or recorded) you automatically get exclusive rights.
Is Registration Necessary?
Why waste time and money on a federal registration? If you are ever in a situation where you have to sue for infringement or provide proof it is your music, the US Copyright Office entitles you to statutory damages and attorney fees. Your federal registration is the best proof of ownership there is. The “poorman’s copyright” has been very popular among musicians. Sending a copy of the music to yourself via mail and leaving the package sealed, you date the creation by the federal postmark. Some proof is better than none, federal registration holds much more weight in court.
Infringement
There is no rule in copyright law that sets a minimum standard for infringement, that even a five second sample could be considered infringement. You must get permission for any copyrighted material you use. You cannot copyright chord progressions or drum beats.
Two Different Kinds of Copyright
*Composition Copyright- The actual writing the song; it protects the arrangement of melody and lyrics.
*Sound Recording Copyright- Protects the unique arrangement of sounds