I'm interested in posting my original music online and want to know how to go about obtaining copyrights for my lyrics and music BEFORE I post it. Anyone familiar with this process? Thanks in advance!

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Idk but ive heard that just by emailing to yourself you copyright it

Contact The Library of Congress. Fill out form SR.

what you can do is do a poor mans copy write...... you put it on a disc and then address it to your self and then go pay the 2 to 3 dollars to send it to yourself return receipt once you get it you sign for it and you put it in a safe and don't open it, that way you are recognized as the person of ownership and you can prove if someone steals your work cause if you were to walk into a courtroom over copy write and you have an envelope with a copy of your work and its handed to a judge to open it up deems it that you are the owner. you should seal the envelope with the clear gator tape so that way you can prove no one had every tried to open it, I do it to the book I am writing all the time, every-time a change is made I do that hope that helps

Music is copyrighted as soon as you create it (by writing it down or recording it). You don't have to do anything to obtain copyright protection. By law, it is automatic. However, you have the option of registering your copyright with the government. If you do this, it's a lot easier to sue people who steal your work, and it's easier to obtain damages. Some lawyers won't take on an infringement case unless the copyright involved has been registered. To register your copyright, you provide a copy of your music to the government and you pay a fee. In the United States, you can register many types of works online, by visiting here: http://www.copyright.gov/eco Even if you don't register your copyright, you can still go to court and force someone to stop using or copying your work, and you can ask the court to order that all illegal copies be destroyed. But it's hard to get damages for copyright infringement if you haven't registered it, because you have to prove that you actually lost money. If you register your copyright, on the other hand, you automatically get damages without having to prove any losses, so it just makes things easier. Keep in mind that as soon as you put your music online, someone will probably steal it. It's illegal for them to do that, but that won't stop them. If you want to stop them, you'll have to sue, which costs a lot of money, so it's not always practical. However, if they put the stolen music online, you can file a DMCA takedown request with their Internet provider, who is then required by law to remove the stolen music. The other guy can claim that his posting doesn't infringe, though, in which case you must either take him to court for real, or the Internet provider can put the stuff back online. Ultimately, the winner is usually the party with the most money, unfortunately. But you do have copyright protection from the moment you create that music, and you do have the right to enforce your copyright if you choose, be it registered or not.

It's automatic. You can optionally register. You can optionally place notice on your works. You can optionally have "terms of use" that prohibit making other copies or anything else you want to limit. The "poor-mans copyright" some have mentioned is also called, "stupid man's copyright" because it really proves nothing but the fact that someone has taken some bad advice from morons. The US post office will, in fact, deliver unsealed or resealable envelopes. Therefore, you would have a postmarked envelope but no proof of what was in it when you mailed it. If you have proof of what was in it when you mailed it, then you don't need to mail it, because that's already sufficient proof. Register the music and lyrics. You can also register a separate copyright for each and every different sound recording you make of various performances you and others may record in the future. Suggest you get some serious contract advice if your music includes performances of anyone else (backup vocals, instruments, mixing board, etc) so that you don't lose control of your copyright ownership. Edit: Registering is optional but you cannot sue in federal court until you register. As a bonus, any infringement after you file registration can result in "statutory damages" of up to $150,000 for each song.