Copyrighting Beats

Is it necessary to copyright your beats? I'm a small time producer and I just wanted to know what happened if I sold beats without copyrighting them.
 
I agree with what Cyko said :P My opinion is that it depends on the way you are going to sell your beats. If you put your beat online then expect for it to be stolen. If you personally know the artist and agree "off-line" then you might be safer.

Copyright is a heavy subject but you can't probably escape it. You are by law offered some protection without copyright registration but if you think that if someone stole your beat you would go against them legally then it is imperative that you copyright your beats.

P. S. You can copyright many beats together to lower the cost of copyright registration
 
I don't copyright my beats.(I mean, how can average producer who just started out pay for all the copyrighting stuff and do the paperwork ?)
What I do is, if I decide to put the beat online on YouTube for example, I put my voice tag on the beat.
That way no one can steal it.
 
I don't copyright my beats.(I mean, how can average producer who just started out pay for all the copyrighting stuff and do the paperwork ?)
What I do is, if I decide to put the beat online on YouTube for example, I put my voice tag on the beat.
That way no one can steal it.

you confuse the fact that you have automatic copyright in your creative work with the lodging of claims to that copyright with the US library of congress (if you are a US citizen or other legal entity under US law)

As an Australian I do not need to take any further action than simply asserting my right to be recognised as the author/creator of the work on the first physical copy I make: this is true for many other legal jurisdictions as well
 
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I don't copyright my beats.(I mean, how can average producer who just started out pay for all the copyrighting stuff and do the paperwork ?)
What I do is, if I decide to put the beat online on YouTube for example, I put my voice tag on the beat.
That way no one can steal it.

haha this may been true 5 to 7 years ago now rappers will rap right over your tag...yes steal your beat or get a decent audio engineer to cut out your tag re-loop the instrumental....it's done all the time
you can register your beats in groups for only $35
if you can't invest $35 get out the game now or get out and get a job or a better paying job.

Remember that soon as you create your beat you have copyright here in the United States so you don't copyright your work your register your copyright. This comes from the U.S. Federal Copyright Act of 1976 I point this out because I hear this every time someone asks about copyrights online. For many producers protecting their work is very important to them. Producers have so many platforms to allow others to hear and yes steal their work we start to get scared to share.

Tagging your beats are a joke now rappers will just rap right over your tag. I would like to mention copyrighting your work is only important if a song that uses your beat goes viral or just plain starts to get spins. This is not about just registering your copyright just to register it. This is about thinking about the future and also the present if you have a existing relationship with a music or media company. In addition to registering your copyright I suggest uploading your session/project files to the cloud and backing them up on another hard drive. When it comes to legal issues always speak to your lawyer. When I registering copyrights for my instrumentals a do them in bunches. View video on costs and forms you need to do this and remember you can register your copyright online in a few minutes. U.S.Copyright Office
 
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you confuse the fact that you have automatic copyright in your creative work with the lodging of claims to that copyright with the US library of congress (if you are a US citizen or other legal entity under US law)

As an Australian I do not need to take any further action than simply asserting my right to be recognised as the author/creator of the work on the first physical copy I make: this is true for many other legal jurisdictions as well

lol yeah fellas he's right again. copyright is free in the USA. once you make something it is protected. what you should be concerned with is publishing rights. get with ASCAP as a publisherthink its $50 for each. anything you make just tag it with your publishing company's name and that will ward off thieves from going after your work. stop me if I'm wrong folks.
 
I don't copyright my beats.(I mean, how can average producer who just started out pay for all the copyrighting stuff and do the paperwork ?)
What I do is, if I decide to put the beat online on YouTube for example, I put my voice tag on the beat.
That way no one can steal it.

There's only so much you could do with that. If someone remakes your track you must have it registered with the copyright office otherwise you can't even file a lawsuit
 
the above may be true in the United States of America but is definitely not true in other legal jurisdictions

even in the USA it makes it more difficult to bring a case but does not prohibit one from being brought .... there may be lawyers who would disagree with this but in the end from the moment you create the work you hold a copyright in it under the Berne Convention on Copyright, the international agreement on copyright laws
 
the above may be true in the United States of America but is definitely not true in other legal jurisdictions

even in the USA it makes it more difficult to bring a case but does not prohibit one from being brought .... there may be lawyers who would disagree with this but in the end from the moment you create the work you hold a copyright in it under the Berne Convention on Copyright, the international agreement on copyright laws


Yes, you're correct. The copyright is created upon creation of the music, but to file a lawsuit (in the US) you must have it registered. I know nothing about other jurisdictions, but in the states, it's a must.
 
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