Help with copyright.

I think I'm running into an issue with youtube. I make videos and I like to create my own music for use in the background. I specify that I made all the music but sometimes youtube still doesn't approve the video for ads.

Part of appealing their decision is to provide enough information to show that I own the rights to the content. But I don't have any kind of signed documentation, it's just stuff I threw together to put in the background of my videos. How do I prove that I own my own music? lol.

I use the loops provided by Presonus in Studio One here and there too, but always specify when they are used and where I got them from. Is there some additional license or something I need to provide to them when I use the loops? If so, where can I find it?

You want to make money off of content, you're going to need to be just like everyone else who puts the work in; put the work in.

Filing a copyright with the Library of Congress isn't very hard or expensive if you do it correctly. I forget what the exact wording is, but you can copyright multiple songs as a "collection of works" (I think it's up to 12 songs, I have no idea off-hand), for a flat $60 fee.

Don't fall victim to scams such as legalzoom.com for filing copyrights for songs, they won't allow you to register a collection of works, they will force you to pay $60 for each and every song you want to copyright.

You really just need to register the works, then get them a hard-copy of the 'best' recording and representation of the song(s), and then they're filed and properly copyrighted.

If you're trying to collect ad revenue, you're going to have to legally show them your material is properly copyrighted and protected. It's honestly probably more for your protection than it is that they think you're stealing material. If anyone copies/takes your material without your permission, youtube would have indisputable proof that you were the owner and the offender was indeed breaking copyright law.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 30/08/2012 05:47:57

ltwhite18 wrote: It's honestly probably more for your protection than it is that they think you're stealing material.

I wish they wouldn't bother. That's an awful lot of trouble and expense just to use my own improvised song I threw together in 15 minutes. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just not worth the time and expense for the amount of $ I get from ads.

Which copyright are you paying $60 for? Mine cost $35 the last time I checked. And like the other person said, as long as you are a partial songwriter on all songs, you can use that $35 to copyright as many songs as you like. Not sure how loops fit in to all that, but I'm sure the answer is out there if you google it.

I think you're right about the 35. Maybe I was getting the $60 figure from when I looked at legalzoom for registering the copyrights. 35 sounds much more accurate now that I'm thinking about it.

While we all like being creative and just want to make music, most people forget that this is a business: THE MUSIC BUSINESS!

I highly recommend that you start your own publishing company (as a d/b/a) and make the small investment to register/copyright your works . Yes, you might make only $1.00 at a shot, but in time everything adds up. You will also have to join a performing rights organization aka PRO (I highly recommend BMI as they have an open door policy, and are very easy to deal with), and enter any works you are publishing with your them.

If you can show YouTube that you/your publishing company are/is the copyright holder, and you have listed your works/catalog with your PRO, I don't see why you should have anymore issues with YouTube.

The small investment you make in time and money--and it is small--could help you to avoid whatever difficulties you have or might incur in the future. Furthermore, you will receive royalties for being BOTH the songwriter AND the publisher.

If I can be of anymore help to you, please let me know.

Good luck!
Stu