Does the Poor Man's Copyright Actually Work?

Once your songs get good and people start hearing them, the same question shows up every time.

“How do I stop somebody from stealing my music?”

So let’s just calm down for a minute and look at what actually protects you. Because the most popular answer out there doesn’t.

What the poor man’s copyright is

You’ve probably heard of it. You put your song on a CD or a thumb drive, seal it in an envelope, and mail it to yourself. When it arrives you don’t open it. The postmark is supposed to prove you had the song first.

In all my years in the business, I’ve never heard of anyone actually using one of these envelopes to win a case.

What the Copyright Office says about it

The US Copyright Office has addressed this directly. In its own FAQ, it says there’s no provision in copyright law for this kind of protection, and that it isn’t a substitute for registration.

So that’s that. Put down the envelope.

You already own the copyright

Here’s the part most songwriters miss. You don’t need an envelope to own your song, because you already own it.

According to the Copyright Office, your work is protected the moment it’s created and fixed in a tangible form. Record a voice memo of the song, or write the lyrics down, and the copyright exists.

The catch is enforcement. If you’re in the US and someone steals your song, you have to register it with the Copyright Office before you can take them to court. Registration also decides what you can recover. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees generally depend on the song being registered before the infringement happened, or within three months of release.

Owning the copyright and being able to defend it are two different things. Registration is what gets you the second one.

What registration costs

It’s not expensive. At the time I’m writing this, registering online costs $45 for a single song where you’re the only writer and the owner, and $65 through the Standard Application, which is the one you’d use for a song with co-writers. The Copyright Office has proposed raising its fees, so check the current amount on copyright.gov before you file.

You can do the whole thing yourself on the Copyright Office website. No lawyer required.

Should you register every song?

This is where my manager’s rule comes in, and I think it’s the right way to look at it.

Sometimes I’ll send him a song and he’ll hesitate. And I’m thinking, no, this is the one, this is the song we should go with. So he hits me back with: “Alright, if you like it that much, pay to finish it, and pay to release and promote it.”

That’s when you find out how much you really believe in a song.

If you’re not willing to spend $45 on your own music, why would anybody else spend money on it? Why would anyone buy a ticket to hear you perform it?

So I don’t register everything. I register the songs I’m putting real money and effort behind. If you’ve got ten songs you love and a tight budget, do them one at a time, starting with the one you’re about to release or pitch.

“But what if a manager steals it?”

Could happen. Most managers aren’t thieves, and from my own experience the vast majority aren’t. But a few are, so there’s some risk in playing your songs for people.

Here’s the good news. Someone can take a song. They can’t take the skill you used to write it, and that skill keeps producing more songs. It’s a risk for you and a risk for them, and you’re the one who can write the next one.

That’s why the best protection is getting really good at the part nobody can steal. Start with your chorus.

I’m a songwriter, not a lawyer. This covers US copyright basics as published by the US Copyright Office. For advice on your specific situation, talk to an entertainment attorney.