did some research and got this article. Makes sense and can save lots of money.

September 24, 2004

Q & A

Each month, musicbizadvice.com answers your questions about the music industry.

Copyrights: Form PA or Form SR:

Q: If I'm sending in a copyright for a song, do I use Form PA or SR?

A: We called the US Copyright Office and spoke with Robert, one of their Information Specialists. According to Robert, the Copyright Office's interpretation of the forms is that Form PA is for words and music and musical arrangements, and that Form SR is for the sound recording and the performance on the recording, as well as the arrangement of the actual sounds on the recording.

In our own humble, non-legal advice giving opinion, if it's a song you've just written, we'd go with Form PA. If you're the artist as well as the songwriter, the recording is master quality, and the recording is the exact one that will be on the CD, we'd go with Form SR. (Think "SR=Sound Recording.")

To save money, some artists who write their own songs skip Form PA and just do a Form SR once the song is recorded on a CD for release to the public. But we never recommend this, because if someone steals your song before you're finished recording, you have no legal recourse. (You cannot sue for infringement unless the copyright is registered with the US Copyright Office.) You may not think anyone will steal your songs, but it happens. We know one unscrupulous bast*** who goes to local bands' shows, records songs he thinks have hit potential, and then registers the copyrights himself before the artist does, knowing the artists can't sue. (See next month's Q&A for more on Copyright.)

Further copyright information is available at the US Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov. (Circulars 50 and 56 are particularly helpful. The website has an excellent search function that will help you find them.) If you need help deciding which forms you need, talk to an Information Specialist at (202) 707-3000 .