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How to Copyright a Song: Registration, BMI, ASCAP and the MLC

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Your song is protected once it's recorded or written down. See when to register it with the US Copyright Office and how to join BMI, ASCAP and the MLC.

Songwriter at a desk with a laptop and a printed lyric, placing the page in a folder next to a dated notebook in daylight

In the US, your song is protected by copyright the moment it is fixed: recorded (even as a phone memo) or written down. You do not have to register it to own it. You register it with the US Copyright Office to get a public record and a certificate that counts as evidence, and because you need a registration before you can sue over a US work. Online, it currently costs $45 for a song you wrote alone and $65 for a co-written one. Getting paid is a separate step: join ASCAP or BMI, both free for songwriters, and register the song there and with The MLC. This guide follows the official steps as of September 2026; it is not legal advice.

Copyright registrationPRO and MLC registration
WhereUS Copyright Office, online in eCOASCAP or BMI (SESAC is invitation-only), plus The MLC
What it doesPublic record and certificate; needed before suing over a US workLets them collect and pay your performance and mechanical royalties
Cost$45 or $65 online (current fees)Free for songwriters
What you sendApplication, fee and a copy of the song (MP3 or sheet music)Title, writers, shares and recording details
Needed to own the song?NoNo, but without it you do not get paid

When your song is protected, and why you still register

Copyright in a song starts on its own. The Copyright Office says a work is protected “the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form”, and most countries follow the same rule under the Berne Convention, whose summary on the WIPO site says protection “must not be conditional upon compliance with any formality”. A melody you only hum in your head is not fixed yet; the voice memo of it is.

So why pay to register? In the US, registration adds three things you do not get automatically:

  1. The right to sue. You cannot file an infringement lawsuit over a US work until it is registered (or the Office refuses the application).
  2. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees. They are only available if you registered before the infringement began, or within three months of first publication.
  3. Evidence. A certificate issued before or within five years of publication is prima facie evidence that the copyright is valid and that the facts on it are true.

Registration also creates a public record with the title, the authors, the owner and the year of creation. You can register at any time during the life of the copyright, but registering before release keeps all three benefits on the table.

What to prepare before you register

Every form asks for the same things. Gather them once, in one folder, and each registration takes minutes.

ItemWhat to have readyWhy it matters
Final titleThe release title, plus any working titleDemos and registrations may carry either
Writers and sharesEach writer’s legal name and percentage, totaling 100%The shares must match at the Copyright Office, your PRO and The MLC
LyricsThe final lyric as a PDF or text filePart of the work you register
Recording or lead sheetAn MP3 or WAV of the whole song, or notation with the melodyThe deposit: it shows exactly what you are registering
Dated versionsEarlier demos and drafts with their datesYour own record of how the song developed
IDsYour IPI number from your PRO, and any ISRC for the recordingLets societies match you and the song

If more than one person wrote the song, agree on the shares before anyone registers anything. A split sheet records who wrote what and each writer’s percentage, and the free split sheet template checks that the total is 100% and prints a page to sign.

A lyric-and-chord sheet from the chord sheet maker is useful for your files, but it does not show the melody. For the deposit, a clear recording of the whole song describes the work better; a phone demo is enough if every word and note can be heard, and the phone demo guide shows how to get one.

The song and the recording are two separate works

The Copyright Office puts it plainly: sound recordings and musical compositions are “two separate works”. Each has its own owners and its own income.

  • The musical work (the composition): melody, chords and lyrics. It belongs to the songwriters and their publishers. ASCAP, BMI and The MLC pay royalties for it.
  • The sound recording (the master): one recorded performance of that song. It belongs to whoever owns the recording, often the artist or a label. Your distributor and SoundExchange pay royalties for it.

The example this guide follows: Nina writes “Salt Road”, words and music, on her own in March 2026, and records a phone demo. In June her friend Omar writes a new bridge with her, and they sign a 75/25 split sheet. In September Nina records the final version at home, pays for it herself and releases it through a distributor. The song belongs to Nina (75%) and Omar (25%); the master belongs to Nina alone. If a band covers “Salt Road” next year, Nina and Omar earn from the song, and the band owns its own recording.

It also explains a common surprise: uploading the master to a distributor does not register the song anywhere, and registering the song does not cover the master.

First pick the application. The type of work you choose changes with what you register.

Your situationApplicationCurrent feeType of work
You wrote the words and music alone, not for hireSingle Application$45Work of the Performing Arts
You wrote it alone and are the only performer and owner of the recordingSingle Application for song and recording$45Sound Recording
Co-written songStandard Application$65Work of the Performing Arts
Song and recording with the same ownersOne Standard Application for both$65Sound Recording
Up to 10 unpublished songs by the same writersGroup of unpublished works (GRUW)$85Work of the Performing Arts

These are the fees on the Copyright Office site on September 27, 2026. The Office has sent Congress a new schedule it plans to apply in fall 2026, with the Single Application at $55, the Standard at $85 and the unpublished group at $130, so check the fees page before you pay. A paper form costs $125 today, and processing takes longer.

The steps online:

  1. Go to copyright.gov/registration and log in to the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO), or create an account.
  2. Choose the application and the type of work from the table above.
  3. Enter the title, the year the version you are registering was completed, and whether the song has been published. The title itself is not protected by copyright.
  4. List every author and what each one created, in terms of music, lyrics or musical arrangement.
  5. Name the claimant: the authors, unless they have transferred the copyright, for example to a publisher.
  6. Pay the fee.
  7. Upload the deposit. For an unpublished song, upload one complete copy (sheet music) or one complete phonorecord, and an MP3 counts. Published songs have different deposit rules; the screen tells you which.

The effective date of registration is the day the Office has received an acceptable application, deposit and fee, not the day it finishes examining them. That is the date that counts for the three-month and five-year rules. Online claims with an uploaded file and no follow-up questions took 3.6 months on average between October 2025 and March 2026.

Worked example: which forms “Salt Road” needs

WhenSituationWhat Nina files
MarchSong written alone, phone demo, unreleasedCould use the Single Application, $45, Work of the Performing Arts, with the demo MP3 as deposit
JuneOmar co-writes the bridgeStandard Application, $65, both as authors and claimants: Nina for music and lyrics, Omar for lyrics
SeptemberFinal master owned by Nina aloneA separate application for the recording, as a Sound Recording, since its owner differs from the song’s

Nina skipped March and registered the co-written version in June, before release. A March registration would have meant a second application for the new version with the bridge.

How to register a song with ASCAP, BMI and The MLC

A PRO (performing rights organization) collects when your song is played in public: radio, TV, venues, streaming. Pick one for your writer share and register every song there.

  • ASCAP. Joining is free for new writer members, and you are eligible once you have written or co-written at least one musical work available to the public. To register, sign in to Member Access and click “Register a Work” under the “Works” menu, or use the ASCAP app.
  • BMI. Joining is free, with no fees or annual dues for songwriters, and registering songs is free. Log in to Online Services, select Works Registration and click Add New Work. BMI does not need your audio or lyrics.
  • SESAC. It is invitation-only and says it is not accepting submissions at this time.

Neither PRO registers your copyright: ASCAP says it “does not register music for the purpose of copyright protection”. ASCAP and BMI also write shares differently; the split sheet guide shows how the same 60/40 looks at each.

The MLC covers the mechanical side of the song’s streaming money. It administers the blanket mechanical licenses for streaming and download services in the US and pays self-administered songwriters. Joining is free. If you have no publisher, join and register or claim your songs in The MLC Portal; if you have a publisher or administrator, they do it.

The master has its own collector. SoundExchange collects digital performance royalties for sound recordings from satellite radio, webcasters and digital cable music. Registration is free, but it does not pay songwriters unless they are also the featured artist or own the recording. Nina signs up there for her master; the music distribution guide covers the distributor side.

UK and Canada in brief

United Kingdom. Copyright is automatic, and GOV.UK says there is not a register of copyright works in the UK. What you do sign up for is membership: PRS for performance royalties and MCPS for mechanical royalties. PRS costs a one-off £100 for writers (£30 if you are under 25), and MCPS is a separate one-off £100. PRS recommends joining when you are likely to earn more than £100 in royalties in a year. Once you are a member, you add each song under “Register my music” in your account.

Canada. Copyright is also automatic, and registering with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is voluntary. The certificate is evidence that copyright exists and that the registered person owns it, though that can be challenged in court. It costs CAD 63 through the copyright e-filing application, which needs a My Canada Business Account, or CAD 81 by other means, and CIPO does not ask for a copy of the song. For royalties, SOCAN membership costs nothing; you register works in its member portal, and its reproduction rights service, for mechanicals, is a separate sign-up paid by commission.

Mailing yourself a sealed copy of the song and never opening the envelope is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright”. The Copyright Office is clear: there is no provision in the law for it, and “it is not a substitute for registration”. It gives you none of the three benefits of a US registration, and a postmark shows only that something was mailed on a date, not what was inside.

In the UK, where there is no register, evidence is all you have. PRS suggests posting the work to yourself by tracked delivery or leaving it with your bank, sealed and clearly dated, and UK Insolvency Service guidance mentions the same methods, adding that the final decision may rest with the courts. A folder of dated drafts, a signed split sheet and your emails with co-writers tell a fuller story.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking a PRO registration is a copyright registration. ASCAP, BMI and The MLC pay you; they do not register your copyright. You may want both.
  • Registering only the master and forgetting the song. A distributor upload, or a sound recording claim, does not register the composition with your PRO.
  • Shares that differ between registrations. 75/25 at BMI and 50/50 at The MLC holds up payment. Copy the numbers from the signed split sheet every time.
  • Waiting until there is a problem. Registering after an infringement starts usually rules out statutory damages and attorney’s fees for it, unless you are within three months of publication.

Checklist before you file

  • Final title decided, working title noted
  • Each writer’s legal name, share (totaling 100%) and PRO, from a signed split sheet
  • Final lyric saved as a PDF or text file
  • A complete recording (MP3 or WAV) or notation with the melody
  • Application chosen: Single, Standard or GRUW, and fee checked on the fees page
  • PRO membership (ASCAP or BMI) and the song registered with the same shares
  • The MLC account opened and the song registered or claimed
  • Certificates and confirmation emails saved with the song

Keep the song’s paper trail in one Zoundroom project

Registration takes a finished snapshot of the song; the history behind it lives in your drafts. In Zoundroom each song is a project that holds its recordings, lyrics, notes and files, with the same account on iOS, Android and the web. For “Salt Road”, Nina keeps the March phone demo, the June take with Omar’s bridge and the final mix in the project, each named with its date, such as salt-road_demo-v2_2026-06-14 (the song file name generator builds names like that). The final lyric sits in a note, a second note lists the credits and IPI numbers, and the signed split sheet and the registration certificate are added as files. When BMI, a publisher or a distributor asks who wrote what and when, everything is in one place, and Omar, invited to the project, sees the same versions. Zoundroom is not a registry: it does not register copyright or works with any office or society, and it does not replace a registration or a contract. See how to organize music projects in Zoundroom.

Frequently asked questions

Your song is copyrighted for free the moment you record it or write it down. Registering it with the US Copyright Office is not free, from $45 today. ASCAP, BMI and The MLC are free, but they get you paid; they do not register copyright. Meanwhile, keep dated recordings, drafts and a signed split sheet.

Do I need to register a song to own it?

No. You own the copyright from the moment the song is fixed. In the US you need a registration to sue over infringement, and registering early keeps statutory damages available. The UK has no register, and in Canada registration is optional.

At the US Copyright Office, currently $45 (Single Application), $65 (Standard Application) or $85 for up to 10 unpublished songs by the same writers, with higher fees planned from fall 2026. In Canada, CAD 63 online. PRO and MLC registration is free for songwriters.

How do I register a song with BMI or ASCAP?

Join one of them, free for songwriters, then add the song online: at BMI, Online Services, Works Registration, Add New Work; at ASCAP, Member Access, “Works”, “Register a Work”. Enter every writer with the same shares as your split sheet, then register the song with The MLC too.

Yes. The Copyright Office registers a claim in music or in lyrics the same way as other works of the performing arts, so lyrics alone go under Work of the Performing Arts, and a group of unpublished lyrics can use the GRUW application. Upload the complete lyric as the deposit.

Sources

All pages checked on September 27, 2026.