How to Copyright & Publish a Song
- 1). Prepare your song by making a recording of it in an acceptable format such as:
.aif, .aiff (Audio Interchange File Format)
.au (Audio File)
.mid, .midi, .rmi (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
.mp3, .m3u (MP3 Audio File or Layer 3 Audio Compression)
.mp4, .mp4a
.ra, .ram (Real Audio File)
.rmi (Resource Interchangable File Format)
.wav (Windows Wave Sound File)
.wma (Windows Media Audio File) - 2). Make sure your file is not too large to send electronically, or zip it using a low-compression software. The site has a 30-minute upload time, so depending on the speed of your modem and Internet connection, you will have to work within this time frame. See link in Resources for free trial zip software.
- 3). Read through the tutorial that the Copyright Office has published to educate you on what it is expecting from you in the copyright process. You can download it at copyright.gov/eco/eco-tutorial.pdf.
- 4). Fill out your application. You will need to go online to copyright.gov/eco/notice.html and register yourself. The electronic application is cheaper than a mailed-in application and has a faster acceptance time. The copyright office will want to know if the work is original, is in the right format and has a reasonable expectation of being published.
- 5). Find a publisher once you receive your certificate of copyright. If you don't already have someone in mind, go to a bookstore and look at the labels of musicians who sing a similar type of song as yours. Look at the label for the name and address of the publisher, and contact it to find out what its submission guidelines are. Do this for as many publishers as you can.
Source...