Ok you wrote a great song. Now you have to protect it.
You should register all of your material with the
Copyright Office in Washington D.C.
You'll need form SR and a $30 fee per song. Obviously, this can get very
expensive if you write a few songs every month; but there is a way to
cut costs by copyrighting a collection of songs.
First use Form PA (performing arts) to register the collection
and keep a copy on one tape. Then use Form CA
(supplemental registration for Correction/Amplification)
by filling in the "Amplified Information" area with each
separate song title. For more information write:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Now you have to sell your song.
There are magazines and tip sheets that will list contacts who are accepting new
material. We can recommend a few and do so on our tip sheets page.
A few of our clients have had good success with TAXI and you can link to them
here or on the tip sheet page.
ROYALTIES
You've set up your publishing deal and now, hopefully, royalties will start to
come in.
The record company pays the publisher mechanicals based on a license fee
determined by the number of CDs and cassettes sold.
The publisher then pays the songwriter.
Performance Rights Societies pay out performance royalties.
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers),
BMI (Broadcast Music Inc), & SESAC are the 3 primary societies in use who
track your song plays on radio, TV, and public places. Performing rights societies
are businesses designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be
compensated for having their music performed in public. You get paid a set performance
fee for the right to use your song. After data is accumulated, each performing rights
society uses their own "mysterious" formula to come up with your payout.
Generally, this gets paid as a 50/50 split to
publisher/writer.