[Melons]

Hey all,

Some great advice has been given to me through this website, one being to join the songwriters guild where they copywrite songs, as well as offer contract advice and song feedback.

However, their annual subscription is £60.

I also have to join PRS, which in itself is £100. Do PRS offer a copywrite service themselves?

So my question is, if PRS don't also offer a copywrite service, are there any other websites you could recommend that do? Obviously I could join the guild, but an extra £60 is very steep for me right now.

Thanks in advance

[CaliaMoko]

My understanding is that copyright is automatic. See: https://www.gov.uk/copyright/overview. There are organizations (some not so reputable, shall we say?) that will offer to copyright your stuff for you, but there's no need. Once you write something it is under copyright. You may want to make a physical copy of some kind and mark it with the copyright symbol, the year, and your name (details on the link I provided above).

Vicki

[Boydie]

Vicki is right - copyright is automatic

The only issues arise is if someone rips you off and copies your song and earns a load of money you would need to be able to prove that you wrote a song when you did

The first thing to say is that the odds of this happening are infinitesimally small - there is probably more chance of getting hit by a bus

However, if you did write a hit and send it to a publisher/ label they would not want to "rip you off" - hits are so rare that they want the goose that laid the golden egg so would not bother trying to steal the golden egg!! - they would want you to write more hits!!

There is a thing called the "poor man's copyright" where you post a copy of your song to yourself recorded delivery and sign across the seal with your song in it - however, I can think of a number of ways to fraud this system

There are service out there that claim to give formal protection but very few have been tested in court as it is so rare for this type of dispute to happen - but they prey on fear to make their money

If £60 a year is too much for you to get unlimited copyright protection, expert legal advice on music industry contracts, general industry advice, song reviews and the other benefits of membership to GISC I think it is safe to say that you would not have the money or resources to defend a copyright claim if a song of yours was copied. For someone in your position who is concerned about copyright and needs someone to check music industry contracts the £60 GISC membership is a no brainer IMHO

Even with formal copyright protection there is likely to be a court case - are you willing to spend thousands of pounds to fight a label knowing that you "should" win but there is always a risk when going to court


I would personally say that the chances of this happening are so small you do not need formal copyright protection. Posting lyrics on this forum, putting the song on YouTube, SoundCloud etc. all help to provide proof of when you wrote a song

Relax and carry on writing more songs