The Copyright Crash Course Every Musician Needs

Today we are covering a topic that every single songwriter, producer, beatmaker, or bathroom-singer-turned-bedroom-studio-genius needs to hear.

We’re talking about… COPYRIGHTS.

It sounds complicated, but by the end of this, you’re going to understand:

What a copyright actually is
When and how it happens
What legal powers it gives you
How to prove it’s yours
How to register it
And how to not accidentally hand it all away on a silver platter

So let’s get into it

What Is a Copyright?

Let’s say you write a song. You record a melody. You scribble lyrics on a napkin during dinner.

The second that creation exists in some saved, physical form—it’s protected by copyright.

That means YOU are the owner of that song. You made it. You own it.

So in the simplest possible terms, a copyright is a legal protection for original creative work.

It gives you the exclusive right to say:

“This is mine. No one can copy, steal, sell, or use this without my permission.”

And it’s not just for music. Copyright also protects art, poetry, videos, books, beats, choreography, sound recordings, podcasts… even blog posts.

So if you’re a creator of anything? You need to know this stuff.

When and How Is It Created?

This is what surprises most people:

You do not need to fill out a form or pay money or call up a lawyer to have a copyright.

Copyright is created automatically the moment your original idea is written down, recorded, typed, drawn, saved—anything that turns it from a thought into a “thing.”

This is called being “fixed in a tangible medium.”
If it exists in a form that can be seen, heard, or touched—you now own it.

No magic words needed.
Just create, and it’s yours.

BUT—just because you own it doesn’t mean you can easily prove it in court. We’ll get to that.

The Bundle of Rights You Get

So what exactly does copyright give you?

When you hold a copyright, you own a bundle of six exclusive rights. These are your creative superpowers:

The right to reproduce the work (aka make copies)
The right to distribute the work (upload it, sell it, release it)
The right to publicly perform it (concerts, streams, bars, venues)
The right to make derivative works (remixes, translations, covers)
The right to display it publicly (mostly visual works, but includes lyric videos)
The right to digitally stream it

If anyone wants to do those things with your work, they need your permission, and usually they should compensate you as well.

And if they don’t? You have the right to say no… or sue them into next week.

What Counts As Proof?

Alright, so you wrote a song. It’s original. You recorded it.
Technically, you own the copyright.

But now imagine someone steals it. Posts it online. Calls it theirs.

How do you prove it’s yours?

Your best defense is dated evidence:

Voice memos
Lyric sheets with timestamps
Session files from GarageBand or Ableton
Emails with your demo attached

That’s all informal proof, but it helps.
For serious protection, though? You gotta take it to the next level:

Why You Should Register Your Work

You can own a copyright without registering it.

But you can’t enforce it in court unless it’s registered.

Registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office (that’s at copyright.gov) gives you:

Legal proof you created the work
The ability to sue if someone copies it
The right to collect damages (aka $$$ if you win)
Extra protection against shady people with good lawyers

It costs about $45–65 to register one song, or you can do a group of songs together.

I recommend registering anything you plan to:

Release publicly
Pitch to labels
Submit to contests
Post on streaming platforms
Share on TikTok if you think it might blow up

Register before you regret it. You don’t want to wish you had receipts after someone’s already monetized your voice.

How to Act Like a Smart, Responsible Creative

Now that we’ve got the legal stuff down, let’s talk about how you can avoid shooting yourself in the foot with your own music.

Because copyright gives you rights—but you’ve got to act right to keep them.

1. Use Split Sheets

If you co-write a song, don’t just trust a handshake or good vibes.
Use a split sheet that says:

Who wrote what
What percentage each person owns
Who owns the master recording
Sign it and save it. Do it before release—not after someone gets famous and forgets your name.

If you want an example of a split sheet, feel free to DM me at tzayla.official and I will happily send you the split sheet that I use. And if you have any questions on how to specifically fill one out, you can DM them to me as well. Id love to help .

2. Record and Save Everything

Keep your lyric drafts, voice memos, sessions, exported WAV files, even notebook pages.
Name them clearly and save backups. Put the date.
You’re building your own archive—and that archive could protect you later.

3. Post With Caution

Be careful about posting full demos or unreleased songs online.
If you haven’t registered the work, and someone steals it—it’s harder to prove it’s yours.
So if you want to share snippets, cool. But don’t leak your whole track if you’re not protected yet.

4. Work With Credible People

Whether it’s producers, managers, collabs, or studios—make sure you know who you’re working with.
Google them. Get things in writing. Don’t just hand over files because they “seem cool.”
Reputation matters. And contracts matter more.

And don’t think, “oh this doesn’t apply to me, no one’s going to want to steal my music, or i bet this doesn’t even happen often”. You’d be wrong. I know way too many artists, both big and very very very small, that have had their music stolen or ripped off by producers, band mates, and even friends. So be sure you’re protecting yourself.

There Are Exceptions…

Now, before I wrap up, I need to be real with you.

Everything I shared today applies to original work that YOU create and YOU own.

But there are exceptions.
And there are situations where you could make something—write it, sing it, produce it—and still not own any of the copyright.

Yep. 😬

Here are a few examples:

You’re doing work-for-hire for a company
You signed over your rights in a contract
You sampled another artist’s work
You created the song as part of a collaboration or under someone else’s name

These situations are where it gets trickier.
But don’t worry—we’re gonna talk all about that in a later post.

And yes—owning your copyright is also how you get paid royalties from places like Spotify, radio, and live performances. But we’ll dive into ASCAP, SoundExchange, and all the money stuff in a future post, as well.

But if you take anything away from this, let it be:
Your songs are valuable. Your voice is powerful. And you have every right to protect both.

So thanks for reading and Keep Dreaming Big!

God Bless,

Adventure Sounds Like THIS