Copyrights and beat mixtapes

[ROBDAGOD]

Im trying to release a beat mixtape with about with 12 to 14 beats to promote me as a producer. Hand them out free of charge. Lets say someone is interested in buying one of the beats off the mixtape. What I wanna know, is it best for me to have copyrights for my beats before I promote them if so how do I go about it? And would I have to copyright the mixtape as whole? I'd really appreciate some advice and insight.

[dreamer89]

Good question bro im curious also !!!

[tharealstylez]

you should copyright any work you put out that you think is really good or could be a hit if in the right hands.

[Crazy Pellas]

you should copyright any work you put out that you think is really good or could be a hit if in the right hands.

Yep.

We've got an article on how to copyright your beats.

would I have to copyright the mixtape as whole?

You don't have to but you will save yourself money by copyrighting a CD full of beats instead of individually.

[ROBDAGOD]

Really appreciate the insight

[JuiceGodBeats]

You should definitely copyright your beats. The fee for copyrighting music is small, when you consider how much money you could possibly lose in the long run. Whenever you upload music to the internet, you give people the opportunity to take your sound. I believe everything you share should be copywritten just in case.

[ROBDAGOD]

So should i copyright each beat at a time or by the bundle? Sometimes i just wanna post some tracks up on youtube just to get heard but like you said im giving people the opportunity to take my sound. What you think about the poor mans copyright? Mailing a CD of beats to yourself.

[Crazy Pellas]

Poor mans copyright doesn't work.

It's really up to you if you want to copyright them by bundle or individually... you'll save money by copyrighting them by bundle like I said above.

[DJCosmicRift]

Im trying to release a beat mixtape with about with 12 to 14 beats to promote me as a producer. Hand them out free of charge. Lets say someone is interested in buying one of the beats off the mixtape. What I wanna know, is it best for me to have copyrights for my beats before I promote them if so how do I go about it? And would I have to copyright the mixtape as whole? I'd really appreciate some advice and insight.

Good question, but before I answer your question I have one for you.

1. How big are you? How well known are you really?

If the answer is I don't know you're more than likely not well known, which is okay. Copyrighting a piece of work cost roughly $75+ and upwards, so if you're not selling records or have competition I would not copyright.

If you were to copyright future material first you would need a trademark through your country, and then you could copyright your material much easier. To trademark or copyright you could use legalzoom, which I use. If you were to trademark your name expect to spend roughly $325+ ,and if you were to copyright a mixtape you would copyright the entire project as one piece saving you multiples of $75 or actual price.

I wouldn't suggest trademarking or copyrighting unless you know you're going to start making sales, or your name might be at potential for being stolen. The cost of a trademark is well over $500, and again as mentioned previously copyrights are nearly reaching $100.

*Trademarks usually take 6-12 months, and you need physical or digital proof of your brand*
As a musician this would be easily done with a website. I can't recall off hand how long it takes for a copyright, but I believe it's upwards of 3-4+ months.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask!

Brian

[Kevin Carwile]

You can register your copyright ONLINE with the US Copyright Office and it's only $35 bucks. See the following article:

[Handbook] How To Register Your Beats With The Us Copyright Office - Beat Ballerz