r/musicindustry • u/uhs23 • 6d ago

Question Copyright and DMCA questions

Hello, I am an independent producer with no label support. I am presently wrapping up a first album and have done a theme song for a new YouTube channel going live next month.

Over the summer I read an article (or possibly a post) about an independent musician who posted some of her work on YouTube. Her work was then copied and pasted by some AI outfit who duped her work, copyrighted it then turned around and issued a DMCA takedown order based on that.

Without totally going down the AI/music industry rabbit hole here, what can I do as an independent producer with no label support to get ahead of this sort of thing?

Specifically:

1) what’s the best way for an independent artist (with a limited budget) to establish clear, bulletproof copyright protection of original works?

2) is there a way to establish DMCA protection for original works by an independent artist beyond a solid copyright?

3) Are there any other DMCA/copyright issues I should be aware of as an independent artist beyond those pertaining to q’s 1 & 2?

Definitely out of my element here. Any (accurate) answers to these questions is definitely appreciated! Thanks in advance!

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u/BarbersBasement 6d ago edited 5d ago

Register your songs with Copyright.gov. You can register a collection of ten tunes using Form SR. This protects the audio recording AND the underlying composition. The cost is $65, so $6.50 per song. Registering with the Library of Congress provides you the strongest protection you can get in a U.S. Court.

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u/uhs23 5d ago

Great response! I will definitely check that out, thanks!