does anyone know how to copyright music when you're very very poor? Is there a free method? I google it and just get people wanting to rob me...

now I can't vouch for the legality of this, but a friend told me that if you make a recording of the song and post it to yourself by recorded delivery, then, most important bit coming up, do not open it.  It is proof of sorts, but I don't know if it stands up in court.
Good question though - I bet there are loads of dodgy 'copyrighting' services on the net that just plain old steal music.

Yeah I've tried that method in the past, but I don't think it's true.

A recorded delivery item isn't sealed in wax- its just a normal package with a sticker on it. I don't see how that is evidence of when a recording was made, as anyone could unstick it without being detected. If that works you may as well send yourslef a heap of empty envelopes, and just fill them with up with recordings of yourself playing other peoples hits. You could claim you wrote everyone elses songs years ago...

I think the recorded delivery thing is an urban myth. It isn't logical. Maybe someone else here will know for sure...  

Miff...
You may be surprised to hear this, but the method suggested above is actually a watered down version of the method advised by the musicians union for the UK.  
The full page here: copyright advice for songwriters is well worth a read.  Also, joining the union gives you many benefits; and I think free copyrighting/ registration of songs is one of them.
Hope that helps

[edit] I renamed your topic to make it easier to find as the forum fills up - hope you don't mind?

thanks Tone!

Na of course I dont mind.  

Yes those added steps of writing a signature across the sealed part etc do make sense. I never understood how it would stand up as evidence, but the above quote solves my problem. I'll follow that link and investigate...  

I haven't done any of these things! But can't really copyright unfinished songs anyway I guess 

Copyrighting is a funny old thing.

First of all: if you write a song, you automatically own the copyright to it. It is not something you have to pay for or anything like that.
The question therefore is not so much "How do I copyright my songs?" but rather "How can I prove I own the copyright to my songs?"

The old method of posting it to yourself is still worth doing, though don't expect it to be an open and shut case if it goes to court. Your tatty. yellow envelope will add some weight to your case, but lots of arguing and witness calling is very likely before a conclusion is reached.

Here's a question for you: Why would somebody want to claim ownership of copyright to a song that wasn't theirs?
The answer is, as far as I can see, so they could claim royalties for that song for themselves ie. intellectual property theft. The problem such a thief has is that unless a song is worth a substantial amount of money ie. if it's a big hit then claiming ownership of copyright will be rather fruitless for them. If a song IS a big hit and thus worth lots of money (hell, even if it's a minor success and only worth a bit of money) then our thief is presented with something of a problem. How can they present any kind of proof that they owned the copyright of the song before its officially recorded manufacture and release dates?
The answer is, not very easily.

If you have your CDs manufactured by a professional company then they will send you a receipt as proof of the fact that they manufactured your CDs on a certain date. They will likely also keep masters of the audio and artwork in case of future re-orders.

If you sell your music through online outlets such as i-Tunes etc. then the release dates will be recorded and stored by these companies.

To me, that seems like pretty hefty evidence in the true-owner's favour.

Very good points made there Andy, although I can see one point of concern for songwriters/ composers posting their work on the internet before it's published.  If there are any unscrupulous companies out there scouring the net for a good tune, what's to stop them from using yours and registering it to themselves?  It's not other writers that I'm worried about - it's companies/ rip off merchants.
I do agree, though, the risk is very small indeed.

But that's just it. If you've uploaded your mp3s onto a site such as Myspace, the exact date and time is recorded in the site's log.
Whatever someone did to try and "register" the song themselves it would have to be after the date you uploaded it.
Remember, the copyright of a song is automatically owned by the composer/s. There is no formal method of registration that can override that.

If a company wants to make money out of your song, the most sensible way for them to do so is to contact you and negotiate some kind of deal with you. Trying to steal it could well cost them more money than it's worth, not to mention their professional reputation. Plus no court in the land is going to believe a company composed a song all by themselves.

Intellectual property theft is not impossible by any means, but I'd be more suspicious of the people you co-write with etc. than anyone else. I remember a number of years ago Sammy Hagar wrote a number of tracks for an (at the time) more established artist, some of which ended up being credited as co-writes between Hagar and said artist and some as I recall weren't even credited to Hagar at all.

I've also heard rumours that 'Love Is All Around' wasn't actually written by Reg Presley, but then there's rumours that Elvis is still alive, so I'm not sure what to believe.

I realise no one has posted for ages...  but just to add all the same..

When you record a song and put it on your PC the date is recorded.  Even if you've never uploaded it the evidence of when the file was added to the pc will be there...

Also write your lyrics in diary format one song after another.. It's highly unlikely but would be physical evidence of your work, including rough drafts and versions... 

THe song would have to be making millions for someone to even consider the risk of a law suit.

Thanks for your contribution espeach - however I feel I should add that I personally wouldn't use my computer as evidence of the date a file was created.  Anyone with a little IT knowledge can 'fix' those records on their PC, much like winding the mileometer back on a car.  It can be done in 5 minutes.

And I don't think it would take a million seller to make your copyright worth registering.  Imagine if you write some music, and then one day you hear it on a TV programme or other media.  You'd know someone else has been paid for your work.  Personally, I would jump all over a situation like that, even if it was for £50, simply over the principle.  And there's the issue of reputation.  Once your music is out there and being used, you'll want people to know it's yours.

very confusing subject. Here is a link I have used in the past.
http://www.greatsongwriting.com/how-to-copyright-songs.html

A fair few people on here have been saying to have a recording stored somewhere, preferably with the recorded delivery thing etc.

Does this need to be a proper/quality recording, or will a rough and ready one suffice provided the basic melody and lyrics are discernable?
Thanks.

Rough and ready is all you need. If you can hear the melody it doesn't matter if you can hear the words or not.  You could simply enclose a lyric sheet.  The same goes for the music actually; you don't even need to include a recording.  You could just write out the notation and post that to yourself.

In the past, I've tended to be wary about putting original songs onto youtube, for instance. But from what I've read, would this in fact be a good idea, since this would provide proof of when the song was first made in a recorded form from the upload date?