Hi, folks.
I have done my first single album, and am trying to promote and to sell it online. There are many platforms such as Songtrar, Distrokid and etc, but I am not sure which one is the best for having my copyright globally.

I am also planning to sell it on iTunes and Google play. Anybody knows the best way for the international copyright and license?
Plus, I am not a person who is a citizen of an English speaking country.

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2018

Haven´t tested it yet, but heard good things about it.
https://distrokid.com/

 

https:/ /www.tunecore.com

alot of people i know use this.

 

There are more than one but the most used methods are in the Northern Hemisphere - ASCAP
Southern Hemisphere - APRA/AMCOS.
[The Europe one I cannot remember off the top of my head]

You register, and every time you write a song you can go online. login and then copyright it with a secure online form.
That copyright is also Global. Any third party has to do it through these guys anyway eventually because they are linked and responsible for all royalty payments.
Also make sure you get codes ISRC and embed in the master files before you turn into flac or whatever audio you are uploading.
They are like ISBN's in books and provide you with a unique identifier for your music. It's free to get them if you look around.
If you do that, you do not need a license because it is crystal clear you own the copyright.

In saying that - If you are doing covers, then when you fill out the song-list, they will ask you for who the publisher is. If for example you were doing a Stevie Wonder cover, you need to find out who the publisher of that song is and give appropriate due credit. The only time people get in trouble is when they don't do this. Similar rules apply. If you fill in all the fields on 90% of the sites that distribute digitally, they have that covered without a license. You also have to find out what percentage of sales you need to send to the publisher. Some sites do that for you but you need to check they do so you do not end up with a nasty letter demanding payment.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2018

The largest European PRO is GESAC.(the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers)

Let us not forget SoundExchange. It will collect and distribute digital performance royalties for your sound recordings.
One thing to keep in mind when registering with a PRO is to do so as a"songwriter" AND "publisher". Why? Because the shares of any of any mechanical royalties, performance royalties, or licenses that your songs generate are split 50/50 between songwriter and publisher, therefore, if you only registered as a songwriter you will leave the publisher's share on the table.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2018

Well there you have it - there are more semantics but between two of us that is most of it.

 

It's a shame the world cannot enforce The Berne Convention with streaming, then places like Spotify would not get away with not paying for the studio, or the musicians, or the printing or the pressing other than hosting fees and a web design with streaming and then keeping 90% of profits they contributed nothing to the creation of.
Also when you join anything like APRA for example which is free in the Southern Hemisphere and directly affiliated Globally as a major affiliate, their support team will tell you it is copyrighted immediately if it is registered as above. Check for yourself by contacting any of the support team associated with any of the major copyright/royalty distributors. Inexpensive.

 

People - Keep in mind what Tony said is correct, unfortunately the world has changed where enforcing anything these days has become increasingly more difficult with the only way anyone will abide by anything is if someone with as much or more money takes them to task on it.
This means people think that basically, if they can get away with something, sadly, they will.

 

Thanks for your reply in detail. The problem is that my country has very less copyright & license law(I rather say we don't have it). Anybody can use your song for commercial purpose without your permission, and you will get penny in your hand even though you find it. Plus, the genre what I do is not popular in my country. It is rather popular in Western countries. That's why I am looking for the international copyright because I have no idea what I should do for my copyright outside of my country.

 

That's one of platforms in my mind. Thanks.

 

Ye, it looks cool. Thx.

 

@jin8864 @tonyg0499

Don't quote me on this because Tony knows a LOT more of the semantics even though I understand copyright law and the royalty system well, he has obviously done the up close and personal with it in more depth...but I am around 99% sure it is either copyrighted or not. Sort of like being pregnant, you cannot be "a little bit pregnant". It's copyrighted or it isn't and if it is, then it is Global, not local. There is an exception to every rule but I am not confident this one is an exception.
I am sure he can alleviate any concerns you might have regarding your home country because I am pretty sure the country of origin does not affect copyright. As I said ask Tony, but I do not think I am far off the mark and I am pretty sure he might even have some valuable suggestions on how to circumvent some of the bullshit you are dealing with that you truly should not have to.
Cheers

PS - When I say Global - if it is registered with a major royalty collector like ASCAP or APRA or GESAC and there is one other that I also cannot remember that Tony might know, then they ALL have it registered with you as the owner.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2018

The only way to deal with the problem of "profit despite penalty", is to take away people's freedom.
By that I mean, money is of little use when sitting in prison.
Of course this all depends on a culture (and an international culture in this case) of laws being enforced, and that culture is difficult to get into place (it mostly "emerges" over time with much effort) and is more quickly and easily eroded.

Thus comes the need for heroes, when culture is failing.
Masters of the old (one foot in order) yet children of the new (one foot in chaos).
This is a job for ... Suicide Squad Bots! :P

 

I love the left humour, too funny - we need money for the kamikaze bots though
To sensibly reply, yes you are correct that there needs to be a balance that no longer exists. The world I think is going through a revolutionary stage at the moment. If things continue the way they are, it will extend past people taking to the streets in protest and that is in too many countries. Part of me no longer wants to watch the news anymore.
I think it is sad that as a planet we have allowed people that almost challenge someone to take them down, knowing they are breaking the law that can only be stopped by someone of equal power that is potentially doing the exact same thing for all anyone knows, and at the expense of others only trying to make a living.

 

You have described a problem that exists in many countries when it comes to copyright protection. It would be of help me if you could provide me with your country of origin. Nevertheless, I will try to help you with the information you have given us and your concern.

Even if your country does not enforce its copyright laws your music is protected outside its borders. For example, if you live in Iran and your music is being exploited in the USA without you receiving any compensation for it, Iranian laws do not come into play. Your case will be heard and decided by an American court under American copyright laws. As I explained earlier, copyright laws are territorial, depends on the national laws of that specific jurisdiction. A copyright holder of a song registered in the USA does not need to register the song in another country to avail himself or herself of that country's copyright laws if both countries are parties to the Berne Convention. And vice-versa.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2018

Also on the sister site, there´s few tutorials that might be worth watching(doesn´t hurt to watch them anyway), if you type "business" in the search box

 

@Audiozer do you mind letting me know and members paying attention to this thread what is it that you don't like about the answer (quoted below) that I gave to the OP. If I was wrong maybe you could correct me and help the OP with his or her situation .Thank you.


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I am going to star by saying that there is not such a thing as "international copyright". Copyright law is territorial. Protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends on the national laws of that specific country. There are some countries that offer little or no copyright protection to any foreign works. However, most countries offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions that have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions. Welcome to the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.

The Berne Convention sets a minimum set of standards for the protection of the rights of the creators of copyrighted works around the world. In other words, foreign nationals must be afforded the same rights and treatment that a domestic copyright holder would receive. Almost 200 countries have ratified the Berne treatie which means that copyright protection in those countries exists automatically from the time a qualifying work is fixed in a tangible medium.

As for your question regarding licensing, my advice to you is to start by joining one or more of the PROs (Performance Rights Organization) as well as SoundExchange. As the name indicates, a PRO is an agency that ensures songwriters and publishers are paid for the use of their music. It collects and distributes digital performance royalties on behalf of recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who own their masters.

Once you have done that, your next step is to decide what company you will utilize to put music into online stores & streaming services such as Tunecore, Disktroid, etc.

Good luck with your first album and never give up![/QUOTE]

 

Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2018

Bada bing bada boom - I thought so.
Thanks Tony

 

My favourite feature and price wise is:
http://symphonicdistribution.com
In contrast to distokid they also offer BeatPort and just one time payment

This might be also interesting
https://amuse.io