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my friends refuse to post any lyrics/poems/audio of their songs online for fear of theft. How safe is it to post such things on sites such as this one?

Well, if you saw a $10 bill on the ground, would you pick it up?
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I copyright everything before I post it.
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Technically, a work of art in any form is considered copyrighted the moment it's written or recorded.
The way to prove it's yours, is to prove you did it first.
The $45 fee at the Library of Congress furnishes proof that you did it first, in case of a dispute.
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S.P., I've posted several songs, and I've probably already had a dozen rip-offs of my music, which I'll probably never even hear.
If I do hear, then I can probably prove it's mine, if I even bother.
But if someone makes a million dollars off of one of my songs, then I'll do something about it . . .
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But - here's the thing:
It's MORE important to me that my work is heard by others, than it is to always get credit for my work.
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If people play my music: GOOD! I've helped spread to others something which I believe in . . .
If they say they wrote it: NOT so good. Jerks . . .
If they say they wrote it, and they're making money with it: I'm coming after them with lawyers . . . .
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Here's the kicker:
What's more important to you? The risk that someone may copy your work - or the sure thing than no one will ever even HEAR your work?
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This very question kept me from showing my songs to others for years. BIG mistake.
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But - if you post it it's copyrighted.
Read up on copyrights - you'll see a post on it, here, somewhere, with some internet addresses . . .
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If you DON'T let others hear/see your work - you'll be 50 and unknown before you know it.

Great response !!

i think if you send your lyrics and music to yourself registered mail, you can bypass having to deal with copywriting. Since registered mail is dated if never opened you can prove that you were the orginal writer. good luck

if you post it online you will already have proof of ownership with a date, if you post it online you have proof that a plagiarist had the opportunity to hear it and steal your work, if you post it online and someone steals it you very likely will have the proof needed to win a law suit...however you have to know it was stolen. If it was stolen by someone and you never hear it, you'll never know...but then if you don't do something with it then what difference does it make?...It's up to the artist, but I might suggest to my friend to get over their paranoia...though I would question if the fear of theft is the real reason for not posting, seems like a convenient excuse to avoid criticism,

If you depend on a self-mailing to prove a song is yours, you could be in for a surprise.
If a thief copies your song/lyrics/whatever, then the thief can go through the copyright process. Then it becomes his song.
If the thief has a copyright from the Library of Congress, and you have a self mailing (even dated earlier), the chances of your winning a copyright challenge are pretty damn slim. That's because they went through the correct legal process, and you did not.
Your only chances of your winning this kind of copyright challenge, in the instance where the thief has the song copyrighted (and you do not), is to pay a rich man's wages to get high-pricced lawyers in the action. Expect to pay thousands and thousands of dollars in legal costs.
Or - you can pay $45 to do it right the first time, and get it copyrighted first.
And, remember, you can do as many songs at once as you want, for that same $45 fee . . .
Whatever . . .
. . . your choice.

Dreadzy J wrote:i think if you send your lyrics and music to yourself registered mail, you can bypass having to deal with copywriting. Since registered mail is dated if never opened you can prove that you were the orginal writer. good luck

Thats's only as good as your ability to sue (aka how much you fork out for a good lawyer) because of all the ways mail can be tampered with. The only true way to copyright in a manner that will withstand legal rigors is through ASCAP, BMI, or the US library of congress...personally I go through ASCAP & the US copyright offices just to be sure. You can also copyright material as a compilation thereby copyrighting several songs at one time.
On the other hand....the vast majority of us broke ass musicians think the songs we are writing are 10 times better than bubba down the road's songs....so why steal them anyway?

"bubba down the road" - I think I'll steal that

mellofello wrote:"bubba down the road" - I think I'll steal that

I KNEW I should of copyrighted that!

Hey, are you ripping-off the lyrics from my song "Joe Blow, Down the Street?"

Samic-BluesFunkJazz wrote:Hey, are you ripping-off the lyrics from my song "Joe Blow, Down the Street?"

Not sure what kind of neighborhood YOU live in but what Joe does in his own house, is none of MY business!

Thats classic. Good info though. Im dealing with this right now. How long does the US Cogress route take?

There is usually a several month wait.
Send your stuff by registered mail.
Be super-careful to fill the form in correctly; it becomes a legal document, and if you screw up, it comes back to you, so you can re-do it, and wait another 1/2 year.
Do it right the first time. Don't guess. Read the instructions printed for the form you're using (probably form SR).
The return receipt, which usually takes 3-4 days, will instead take 3 - 12 weeks to come back.
That just says they have your package, but that is one of the most important things . . .
Once you get that, you're probably safe in posting your songs, but you may want to wait for the actual copyright . . . .
Keep the receipt. It can prove valuable to you, in case of any future copyright challenges.
The actucal copyrights should arrive in 3 - 6 months.
That's right: MONTHs.
Because of all the a**h*** terrorists, mail now goes to a separate facility to be screened for explosives, radioactivity, and biological warefare agents.
That takes extra time.
Get started right away . . .

So check this out. When sending your material, whats the best way to mail it? By that I mean, do you just send a CD with the songs on it or like have the notation of the music written out, lyrics separate, etc.? Preciate it.

Just record it on a CD (or cassette tape), & enclose that with the 2-page application, and $45.
Pay $5 to mail it by Certified Mail w/a return receipt.
No need to write the music out.
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I haven't copyrighted lyrics, yet, but I don't think it's any different.
If you have lyrics, I think all you have to do is to sing them, very, very clearly . . .
Don't really know - maybe it'd be a good idea to write the lyrics down . . .
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Remember: it costs $45 for one song. Or $45 for 2. Or $45 for ten songs.

I've been copyrighting them 10 - 11 songs per batch.
When you do it this way, (as a Collection), you need to download and print the 2nd form. This becomes a continuation of the first form, and page 2 of this 2nd form is mostly blank, so you can list all the songs.
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Good luck with it.
I wish I knew about copyright collections 30 years ago . . .