How to Copyright a Song (Even on a Leased Beat)

You wrote the lyrics, recorded the vocals and the track finally sounds right. Now you want to protect it. Good news first: your song is already protected by copyright. The real question is whether you should register it with the US Copyright Office, and what you can actually claim when the beat came from someone else. Here's how it works, in plain language.

Short answer

• Your song is copyrighted automatically the moment it's recorded or written down.
• Registering with the US Copyright Office is optional, but you need it before you can sue over a US work.
• A track contains two works: the song (music and lyrics) and the sound recording.
• Rapped on a leased beat? You can register what you created, like your lyrics, and you exclude the beat.

Your song is already copyrighted

You don't have to apply for copyright. The US Copyright Office puts it like this: "Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form." A voice memo, a bounce from your DAW or lyrics in your notes app all count as fixed.

What about mailing yourself a copy, the so-called "poor man's copyright"? According to the Copyright Office, there is no provision in copyright law for that kind of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration. Save your dated project files and bounces anyway, they're useful proof of when you made something. Just don't treat them as a registration.

So why register at all?

Registration is voluntary, but it gives you two big things in the US:

• You can go to court. The Copyright Office says you have to register if you want to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a US work.
• Statutory damages and attorney's fees. Registered works may qualify for these in a successful case. Timing matters: under section 412 of the Copyright Act, you generally can't get them for infringement that started before registration, unless you register a published work within three months after it was first published.

Practical takeaway: if a song matters to you, register it before or shortly after release, not after someone copies it.

One track, two copyrights

This is where most artists get confused. The Copyright Office treats a track as two separate works. In its circular on musical works and sound recordings it says a copyright in a sound recording "is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition."

• The song (musical work): the music and the lyrics.
• The sound recording (the master): the actual recorded performance you hear.

Registering one does not automatically cover the other. You can register both in one application only when the same claimant owns both works. With a beat from a producer, that's usually not the case, so read on.

Made the song with others? Agree on who owns what first. Our guide on how a split sheet works shows you how.

Rapping on a leased beat: what can you claim?

When a producer made the beat, they wrote the music. You wrote the lyrics. So the song has at least two authors, and you can only register the part you own or have rights to.

Check your license first

Your beat license says what you're allowed to do with the beat and who keeps ownership. Not every license is the same, so read yours before you register anything. Not sure what to look for? Read which beat license you need for Spotify and YouTube.

Without permission it gets risky. According to the Copyright Office's circular on derivative works, protection does not extend to any part of a work where someone else's material was used unlawfully.

Exclude what isn't yours

The application has a section called Limitation of Claim. That's where you exclude material you don't own and describe what you added. The Copyright Office's own help page gives an example that fits rappers almost perfectly: someone writes new lyrics to an existing tune. Material excluded: music. New material included: lyrics.

The same logic goes for the recording. If you also claim the sound recording, exclude the recorded beat and describe only what you added, such as your vocal performance.

Registration is not Content ID

Registering your song with the Copyright Office is not the same as putting it into YouTube's Content ID. On a non-exclusive beat, Content ID can hit other artists who leased the same instrumental. Read what to do about a Content ID claim on your beat before you switch it on with your distributor.

Want a beat that's made just for your song, with the ownership talk done up front? You can request a custom made beat, browse the beats, or ask about an exclusive.

Step by step: register your song online

1. Get your files ready. Your final audio file, your lyrics, the names of everyone who worked on it, your beat license and your split sheet.
2. Create an account in the online registration system on copyright.gov.
3. Pick the right application. The Single Application is the simple one, but according to the Copyright Office it only works when you are the only author, the only performer featured on the recording and the only owner of both works. Used someone else's beat or had a feature? Then you use the Standard Application.
4. Choose the type of work. Registering the song and the recording together, with the same claimant for both? Choose Sound Recording. Otherwise file separate applications, as the Copyright Office generally advises.
5. Fill in the authors and what each of them created, for example lyrics or sound recording.
6. Fill in the Limitation of Claim if the track contains material you don't own, like the beat.
7. Pay the fee. Fees depend on the application type and change over time, so check the current amounts on copyright.gov.
8. Upload your deposit. For unpublished or digitally published work, the Copyright Office encourages uploading a digital file.

Your registration's effective date is the day the Copyright Office has received your application, deposit and fee, as long as they're found acceptable. Processing can take a while, but that date is what counts.

Several unreleased songs?

The Group Registration for Unpublished Works lets you register up to ten unpublished works in one application. Every work must be unpublished and created by the same author or the same co-authors, who are also named as claimants.

Registration is only one piece

A copyright registration protects your song. It doesn't collect your money. For that you also need:

• A PRO for performance royalties on your song. See BMI vs ASCAP.
• An ISRC for every recording, usually from your distributor. See ISRC and UPC explained.

Curious what your share of a song could bring in? Put your stream count and your percentage into the free streams calculator for a rough estimate.

Not based in the US?

Copyright is automatic in many countries too. In the Netherlands, for example, the government says you don't need to apply for or register copyright anywhere, and the right exists from the moment you make the work. The rule that you must register before suing applies to US works. If you're outside the US and run into a real dispute there, talk to a lawyer about your options. Based in the Netherlands? Then collecting your songwriter money starts with BumaStemra: here's how BumaStemra and Sena work.

FAQ

Is my song protected if I don't register it?

Yes. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created and fixed. Registration adds the ability to sue over a US work and possible statutory damages and attorney's fees.

Does "poor man's copyright" work?

No. The Copyright Office says copyright law has no provision for it and that it's not a substitute for registration.

Can I copyright a song I made on a leased beat?

You can register what you created, such as your lyrics, and exclude the beat in the Limitation of Claim. Check your beat license first, because it sets what you're allowed to do.

Does one registration cover the song and the recording?

Only when you register both in one application and the same claimant owns both works. Otherwise you register them separately.

Should I register before or after the release?

Before, or within three months after first publication, if you want to keep statutory damages and attorney's fees on the table for infringement that starts early.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For contracts, disputes or big releases, talk to a music lawyer. Sources: US Copyright Office (general FAQ, Circulars 14 and 56A, Limitation of Claim help, GRUW FAQ, Copyright Act chapter 4) and Ondernemersplein (Dutch government).