Can i claim my own work?

Question

i'm in a band and i want to us to have the rights for our songs and stuff so i was wondering if i could mail the songs to myself with all our names on it aslong as it was ours so like if we got big then the publisher couldn't claim our work you know

Answer 1

Actually, most bands assign the rights to their songs in their contracts. Remember when Michael Jackson bought the Beatles' songs?

Answer 2

What you describe is 'the poor man's copyright. This very risky!

re: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-m...

You would be better off compiling a CD with as much original material as you can, and sending it in to the copyright office and paying the $45 fee. I know that it seems like a lot, but if you have 10 songs, that is only $4.50 each. Each of those works could be worth thousands of dollars.

My friends that write music do this. (And I know some with Billboard hits). Is it worth the risk? Producers and Publishers can be crooks as easily as honest.

Look at this site: http://www.musicbizacademy.com/internet/...

Good luck...protect your art!

Answer 3

You should check out information on copywrites - I would assume you can find out the information on line - I think mailing the songs to yourself is part of the process - but you should look into it more to find out.  Talk to a patent lawyer - as this gets into legal information and accountants can get into trouble for giving legal advice.

Answer 4

If You created it then it is yours by law as lon as you can prove you created it. Like put dates on every thing.