Understanding Copyright Registration
Everything independent artists need to know.
Copyright vs. Registration
Copyright is automatic. The moment you create an original song — write lyrics, compose a melody, or record a performance — copyright exists. You own it. No filing required.
Registration is optional but powerful. Filing with the U.S. Copyright Office (copyright.gov) is a separate step that gives you additional legal protections. Think of it as the difference between owning your car and having the title.
Benefits of Registration
- 1.Right to sue. You must register before you can file a copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court.
- 2.Statutory damages. If you register before infringement occurs (or within 3 months of publication), you can claim statutory damages of $750–$150,000 per work — without needing to prove actual losses.
- 3.Attorney's fees. Courts can order the infringer to pay your legal costs. This makes lawsuits financially viable for independent artists.
- 4.Public record. Registration creates an official record of your claim. It's evidence in any future dispute.
- 5.CLEAR Act coverage. The proposed CLEAR Act (2026) would require AI companies to disclose registered works used in training — but only registered ones.
The CLEAR Act (2026)
The Content Licensing and Enforcement of Artificial intelligence Rights (CLEAR) Act, introduced in February 2026, proposes that AI companies must:
- Disclose copyrighted works used to train AI models
- Obtain licenses or consent from copyright holders
- Maintain a searchable database of training data
The catch: these protections apply to registered copyrights. If your music isn't registered with the Copyright Office, it effectively doesn't exist in this framework. Major labels register everything. Most independent artists don't.
Sound Recording vs. Musical Work
One song can have two separate copyrights:
Sound Recording (SR)
The actual recorded performance. Owned by the performer or label. Protects the specific recording — not the underlying song.
Musical Work (PA)
The composition — melody, harmony, and lyrics. Owned by the songwriter or publisher. Protects the song itself, regardless of who performs it.
For full protection, both should be registered. If you wrote and recorded the song, you may need to register both the SR and PA. If you're signed to a label, they may handle the SR.
How to Register
- 1.Go to copyright.gov/registration
- 2.Create an account on the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) system
- 3.Fill out the application (choose Sound Recording or Performing Arts)
- 4.Upload a copy of your work (audio file)
- 5.Pay the filing fee ($65 per work for a single author, or use group registration for albums)
Group registration: You can register up to 20 unpublished works or an album of songs in a single application, which significantly reduces cost per song.
FAQ — Reading Your Results
Why does the Copyright Office list different names than the artist I searched?
The Copyright Office records songwriters and publishers as authors — not performing artists. A Beyoncé song might only list her co-writers (e.g. Terius Nash, The-Dream). A Post Malone track might list Austin Post or his publishing company. This is normal and doesn't mean the registration is wrong — the performing artist and the registered songwriter are often different people.
What do the status labels mean?
Registered — We found a matching registration in the Copyright Office database, confirmed by either the songwriter/author name or a unique enough title that we're confident it's the right match.
Possible Match — The title matches a registration, but the title is common enough (e.g. "Energy" or "Stay") that we can't be 100% certain it's the same song. Click through to review the registration details.
Not Found — No matching registration was found. This doesn't necessarily mean the song is unregistered — it may be registered under a different title, a different spelling, or a group registration that lists the album title rather than individual tracks.
Should I register a song that shows "Not Found"?
Not automatically. A "Not Found" result means we didn't find it in our database of 6.3M+ records, but the song could still be registered under a variant title or as part of an album-level registration. We recommend searching by the songwriter's name on the homepage to double-check before filing a new registration.
How current is the data?
Our database uses the U.S. Copyright Office's public bulk dataset released January 2026, covering registrations from January 1978 through June 2025. Songs registered after June 2025 will not appear until the next dataset release (expected mid-2026).
Ready to check your catalog?
Find out which of your songs are already registered.