copyright my songs

you really need to do your homework here. there are all sorts of different copyright laws governing different forms of media, with different rules for different situations—i.e., did you write the song or just perform it? are you trying to copyright a particular recording of the song, or the written piece itself? before you go through the process of sending your CD to the library of congress you need to make sure you’re asking for the correct thing, because it costs a fee and it’s the only real sure way to “own” your music. that whole “mail the CD to yourself” thing isn’t 100 percent certain to hold up in court. besides if you’re really passionate about it, pay the 20 bucks or however much it costs and just get the damn songs copyrighted.

I have a few copyrighted songs, but many of them I never bothered to send in, in part because I stopped going to open mics. I suppose another goal will be, eventually, to practice and start singing again, but in the meantime, I really do want to send in my songs to the Library of Congress to get copyrighted. It’s just a small step.