Newbie question: registering songs with PRO

[Improv]

Hi,

This is a question that still isn’t quite crystal clear to me.
Let say, I’m registered with a PRO in a ‘smaller’ country. As example, let say the GEMA (Germany).
And I’m accepted in a foreign non-exclusive library. They want some of my songs in their library.

What would be the next step for me? Should I register these accepted songs with my PRO (GEMA), or should let it all over to the music library (or libraries, it’s a non-exclusive contract after all)?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Improv]

Any help is truly greatly appreciated. Is there someone who can shine some light on this little question of mine?

[Improv]

Anyone? It’s such a basic question, and I truly have no clue.

[TheOne]

If you give the library the tracks they need to register it themselves. And yes if its non-exclusive you can give it to more then one library as long as they all non-exclusive, just don’t go over board because it can come against you. Dont sign up with more then 200-300 libraries…….. (just kidding).

[Improv]

Thank you for your answer TheOne!
I won’t register the tracks with my PRO (GEMA) then. Thank you!

[Rec Head]

Hi Improv,

My experience is different.

I suggest you ask the library if they are going to register the tracks, and if not, register them yourself. Also, you may want to give the tracks different titles in each library, and then register each of those different titles with your PRO – this way you can track who got you the placements in the future.

And finally, there’s an exclusive library I work with and I still ended up registering the tracks myself since they never got round to it. Better to be proactive!

[odie76]

I could be wrong, but if Improv is dealing with non-exclusive libraries then isn’t it better to register the tracks with GEMA himself?

I register all my tracks with my PRO (PRS) as soon as I finish producing them. The non-exclusive libraries don’t register my tracks, unless they re-title the tracks in which case they register the re-titled names with their PRO.

[TheOne]

Yes, the library will only register a new title if they use the re-title model, In that case, you don’t need to register the re-titled version yourself, they will do it.

[Improv]

Thank you fellas. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.
Just to be safe, I’ll register them with my PRO. It can’t hurt, right?

 

[angopop]

Ok, I’m trying to think through the alternate titles for different libraries idea, bear with me.

So I come up with a title for a song when I’m working on it. I register that title with BMI. I send the song to one library and use that title.

When I send it to the second library, I use an alternate title (and so on for subsequent libraries), but I shouldn’t need to register that with BMI since the library will register that, won’t they? But shouldn’t that mean that I don’t need to register the first name either?

If they re-title it with a number or letter (for example: AS_Louie Louie), then I can tell which library it was.

So… doesn’t that mean that I don’t need to register any of my songs with BMI if the libraries are supposed to do that … If my music is going anyplace that will not register with BMI (Like direct placement in a movie, etc), that’s when I should be registering my songs, right?

Can someone clarify?

Thanks.

[Art Munson]

So… doesn’t that mean that I don’t need to register any of my songs with BMI if the libraries are supposed to do that … If my music is going anyplace that will not register with BMI (Like direct placement in a movie, etc), that’s when I should be registering my songs, right?

Pretty much you got it. Register your title and let the libraries register theirs.

[angopop]

Thanks Art!

[angopop]

Similar question, but now applying this to copyright — do you register the initial title and all the alternate titles with the copyright office at the same time?

I don’t recall a field in the application process to do that when you’re filling out the copyright application? Or do you send in a different application for alternate titles?

[Art Munson]

Google is your friend. This helps a little:
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/help-title.html but you can’t copyright titles so I’m not sure there’s a point to copyrighting alt titles. Someone else will surely know more than I on it though.

[angopop]

Thanks, Art … I am aware that you can’t copyright the title, I was thinking of something else…

Let me clarify. The reason we copyright is to protect our songs should someone copy our musical ideas. Many of us are re-titling our own songs and sending the same song to different libraries with different names.

If, say for instance, one of our songs which we copyrighted as Blue Skies and then sent to one library with that name, then sent to another library as He’s So Fine, gets re-written by Mr. Plaja Rhythm who names his song My Sweet Lord, and he makes over $75,000 or enough to warrant a lawsuit (see the other copyright thread).

Blue Skies was copyrighted, but He’s So Fine was not, wouldn’t that leave a hole in a legal situation?

We wouldn’t be copyrighting the title, but copyrighting every instance of that particular song with each different title we give it.

I’m not a lawyer, I just like to think I play one around the house…

[Author]

Posts