Sound Recordings

 

Step 1
Make sure your work is a sound recording. Sound recordings are "works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work." Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures (read details).

Copyright registration for a sound recording alone is neither the same as, nor a substitute for, registration for the musical, dramatic, or literary work recorded. The underlying work may be registered in its own right apart from any recording of the performance, or in certain cases, the underlying work may be registered together with the sound recording (read details on choosing the correct form).

Note: To register performing arts works, see the Performing Arts instructions. Read more about the registration of musical compositions and sound recordings.

Step 2
Put into one envelope or package

• a completed application Form SR
  
• a $30 payment to "Register of Copyrights."
  
• nonreturnable copy(ies) of the material to be registered (read details).

Step 3
Send the package to

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

Please read this important notice about mail delivery disruption.

Your registration becomes effective on the day that the Copyright Office receives your application in good order, payment, and copy(ies). If your application is in order, you will receive a certificate of registration in 4 to 5 months.

For more details, please see Circular 56, Copyright Registration for Sound Recordings and other informational circulars.

Library of Congress

U.S. Copyright Office forms used for registering copyright.

For published or unpublished works of the performing arts
Form PA
Form PA with instructions
Form PA Short- Simplified version of Form PA

For published or unpublished sound recordings
Form SR
Form SR with instructions

 

Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings
For copyright purposes, there is a difference between MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS and SOUND RECORDINGS.

A Musical Composition consists of music, including any accompanying words, and is normally registered as a work of performing arts. The author of a musical composition is generally the composer and the lyricist, if any. A musical composition may be in the form of a notated copy (for example, sheet music) or in the form of a phonorecord (for example, cassette tape, LP, or CD).

A Sound Recording results from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The author of a sound recording is the performer(s) whose performance is fixed, or the record producer who processes the sounds and fixes them in the final recording, or both.

Copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition.

Registration of a Musical Composition and a Sound Recording with a Single Application

Although they are separate works, a musical composition and a sound recording may be registered together on a single application if ownership of the copyrights in both is exactly the same. To register a single claim in both works, complete Form SR. Give information about the author(s) of both the musical composition and the sound recording.

 

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