The answer is “no” and “yes.” The “no” is first because of how copyrights work. A copyright for a song comes into existence when the song is created. Thus, you do not need a lawyer to copyright a song since the song is copyrighted when it is written and reduced to paper, computer file, or recording. In fact, technically, you do not need to do anything else. Once you create a song, it is copyrighted.

But, as with many things legal, matters are not quite so simple. Copyrights are legal protection that allows the creator

• To have exclusive use of the created work
• To sell and perform your song
• To create derivative works based on the original
• To prevent others from using/performing the work
• To license or sell the original work

But, to have the most comprehensive legal protection, the owner of a copyright should register the copyright with the US Copyright Office. Once you have the copyright registered, additional legal protections come into being, such as the ability to sue a person or business for infringing your copyright. You can sue for money and statutory damages, which can be substantial. Note that copyrights are protected at the federal level under the US Copyright Act but also at the State level through various State laws and State judicial decisions.

Technically, you do not need a lawyer to register a copyright with the US Copyright Office. However, it is better and wiser to hire an experienced copyright lawyer to accomplish the registration. Sometimes, registration can be complicated. For example, with a song, there are at least two copyrightable original works: the music and the lyrics. Copyright exists for each, and each should be registered as separate copyright. Further, a third potential copyright registration exists if the song has been recorded. The recording is a separately copyrightable original work that can be registered. An additional original work might exist if there is a video involved — which does not necessarily mean a produced and choreographed “music video,” but just a visual recording of the performance. Copyrights for sound and audio recordings can be registered but have some nuances that a talented copyright lawyer can assist with.

Another complicating factor involves the potential for split ownership of the copyright. If the song, lyrics, performance, and video are all created solely by one person, then matters are simple enough. That one person owns all of the copyrights. However, songs are usually created with some joint effort. Likewise, performances are usually a process of joint efforts from musicians, producers, audio recorders, camera technicians, etc. So, it can be very important to have a copyright lawyer help with identifying who are the other potential co-claimants for the copyrights to be registered and to help figure out what the ownership percentages are. Such should be reduced to writing, and dedicated copyright lawyers are important for that.

Contact the Song Copyright Attorneys at Revision Legal

For more information, contact the experienced Song Copyright Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.

Why Song Copyright Is More Legally Complex Than It Appears

Musicians and songwriters are often surprised to learn that “copyrighting a song” is not a single act — it is a layered process involving multiple distinct copyrightable works, potential co-owners, and registration decisions that will affect your legal rights for decades. The stakes are high. Unregistered, mis-registered, or under-registered musical works leave significant income and enforcement leverage on the table. Here is a more complete picture of what copyright law means for songwriters and recording artists.

Automatic Copyright vs. Registered Copyright: Why the Distinction Matters

Under 17 U.S.C. § 102(a), copyright subsists in original works of authorship from the moment of creation and fixation in a tangible medium of expression. For a song, fixation occurs when the lyrics are written down, the music is notated, or any version of the work is recorded. No registration, no notice, and no formal action of any kind is required for copyright to arise. That much is simple.

But automatic copyright and registered copyright are fundamentally different legal positions. Under 17 U.S.C. § 411(a), registration is a prerequisite to bringing a federal copyright infringement action. This means you cannot file suit in federal court to stop someone from pirating or sampling your music without first registering the copyright. Under 17 U.S.C. § 412, statutory damages and attorney’s fees — which can reach $150,000 per willful infringement — are available only if the work was registered before the infringement commenced, or within three months of first publication. For works that are registered after infringement begins, the copyright owner is limited to actual damages and profits, which are often far harder to prove and substantially smaller in amount.

The Three (or More) Copyrights in a Single Song

Most musicians think of a “song” as one thing. Copyright law sees it differently. A fully recorded and released song typically involves at least three distinct copyrightable works:

• The musical composition — the underlying melody and harmony, protectable as sheet music or notation, governed by the composer’s copyright
• The lyrics — independently copyrightable as a literary work; when combined with the musical composition, both are typically registered on a single application, but their ownership may differ if the composer and lyricist are different people
• The sound recording — the specific recorded performance, separately copyrightable under 17 U.S.C. § 102(a)(7); this copyright belongs to whoever fixed the recording, typically the record label or the artist/producer if self-released

If a music video exists — even an informal live performance video posted online — there may be a fourth copyrightable work: the audiovisual recording. Each of these works has its own copyright, its own registration, its own term of protection, and its own set of potential owners. Confusing or merging these is one of the most common and costly mistakes musicians make.

Sound Recording Copyrights: Special Rules

Sound recordings have historically been treated differently under U.S. copyright law. Federal copyright protection for sound recordings did not exist until the Sound Recording Amendment of 1971 and was not retroactive to earlier recordings. Recordings made before February 15, 1972 were instead protected (to varying degrees) under a patchwork of state laws until the Music Modernization Act of 2018 brought them under federal copyright protection.

The exclusive rights in a sound recording under 17 U.S.C. § 114 are also narrower than those for musical compositions. In particular, the right to perform a sound recording publicly by digital audio transmission — think streaming — is a limited right that comes with statutory licensing provisions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Music Modernization Act. These provisions create both rights and obligations that recording artists and independent labels frequently misunderstand. A copyright attorney can help you navigate the royalty collection and licensing landscape through performance rights organizations and SoundExchange.

Co-Authorship and Ownership Disputes

When two or more individuals jointly create a work with the intent that their contributions be merged into a unitary whole, the result is a joint work under 17 U.S.C. § 101. Each co-author of a joint work owns an undivided interest in the entire work and may license the work non-exclusively without the other co-authors’ consent — but must account for profits to the other co-authors. This default rule has destroyed many creative partnerships.

The threshold for co-authorship is that each contributor must have contributed independently copyrightable expression. Supplying a beat, contributing a distinctive guitar riff, or writing a bridge can all constitute co-authorship depending on the facts. Collaborators who contribute only ideas, suggestions, or non-creative elements do not become co-authors, but disputes about exactly what was contributed are common and expensive to litigate.

The solution is a written collaboration agreement executed before the creative work begins — not after. A well-drafted agreement specifies percentage ownership of each copyright, how licensing decisions will be made, what happens if one collaborator wants to sell their interest, and how revenue from various exploitation streams will be divided. A copyright lawyer can draft this agreement in a way that reflects the actual intentions of all parties and avoids the default rules that might otherwise apply.

Music Licensing and Synchronization Rights

When a song is used in a film, television show, commercial, video game, or online video, two separate licenses are typically required: a synchronization license (for the musical composition, from the music publisher or composer) and a master license (for the sound recording, from the record label or rights holder). Missing either license creates infringement liability, and content that is uploaded to platforms like YouTube may be flagged or monetized by the rights holders through Content ID systems even without formal legal action.

For artists who want to generate licensing income, properly registering copyrights and affiliating with the appropriate performance rights organizations — ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC for the composition; SoundExchange for digital sound recording royalties — is essential to ensuring that royalties flow to the right parties.

The copyright attorneys at Revision Legal work with musicians, songwriters, producers, and independent labels on registration, co-ownership agreements, licensing, and infringement matters. Whether you are starting out or have an established catalog, contact us to make sure your music is properly protected.