Copyright how to
I am trying to assist a friend who has written a series of dance tunes such as waltzes, jigs and reels. We play them or used to play them pre-pandemic for contra dances in the local DC region.
I would like to create a book of all of the tunes.
I am looking for resources that explain the process by which one copyright's tunes?
Could it be done using Musescore?
For example, if someone writes a tune and uploads it to Musescore, what is the process where by they might copyright the tune? Is there a cost to do so?
Thanks for any guidance.
Joe Klausner
Comments
They are copyrighted the moment you write them, remain copyrighted the moment you publish them, one way of publishing them is via Save online to musescore.com, and all that is completely free.
They still can get stolen, and such copyright violations would need to be followed up by you or your lawyer.
This is, however, different from registering them with any of the performance-rights organization (PRO), like ASCAP or BMI (both in the US, or GEMA (Germany), which would help to collect the royalties that come from others performing those scores
In reply to They are copyrighted the… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thank you
Also, thank you for your technical responses to various questions in the forum. They have been very helpful especially when you point to where the information is in handbook. Thank you.