How do you register a song: the composition, the sound recording, or both?

Releasing music raises a registration question most artists only half answer: which copyright are you registering? For how music rights fit into recording, publishing and sync deals, see our main page on entertainment law for music, film and TV. For a plain-language primer, read our post The Music Copyrights Puzzle.

How registering a song works, step by step

1. Sort out the two works and the owner of each. Decide whether you are registering the composition, the recording, or both, and who owns each (Circular 56A).
2. Pick the application. Single ($45), Standard ($65), the album group option GRAM ($65) or the unpublished group option GRUW ($85), each explained below.
3. Fill in the online application. When one application covers a song and its recording, choose "Sound Recording" as the type of work; picking the wrong type means starting over. Give titles exactly as they appear on the work and, if released, the date and country of first publication (Circular 56A).
4. Pay and send the deposit. For unreleased or digital-only music, upload the files; each file can be up to 500 MB. For music released on CD or vinyl, send two physical copies of the best edition, with CD ranked first and vinyl second. A deposit becomes part of the public record and is not returned (Circular 56A).
5. Note the effective date. Registration takes effect the day the Office has received an application, deposit and fee that are later found acceptable, not the day it acts on the claim (17 U.S.C. 410(d)).
6. Answer the examiner. The Office corresponded with applicants on 27 percent of claims closed from October 2025 through March 2026, and it asks for a full response within 45 days of its email.
7. Receive the certificate. A certificate for a registration made before or within five years after first publication is prima facie evidence that the copyright is valid (17 U.S.C. 410(c)).

What are the two copyrights in a recorded song?

The Copyright Office treats a musical composition and a sound recording as two separate works, even though the recording is based on the composition. Registering one does not cover the other: a registration for a composition covers the music and lyrics but not a recorded performance of them, and a registration for a recording does not cover the song underneath it (Copyright Office Circular 56A).

That difference is why a recording earns performance royalties from digital transmissions such as internet radio, but not from over-the-air AM and FM broadcasts (17 U.S.C. 106(6), 114(d)(1)(A)), a point covered in our page on how artists get paid when recordings stream on internet radio.

When can one application cover both?

Circular 56A allows one Standard Application for a sound recording and the composition it contains when two conditions are met: both works are embodied in the same recording, and the same person or company is the claimant for both. A songwriter who records her own song can file once for both. So can a record company that owns both the song and the master. An artist recording someone else's song registers only the recording, and a songwriter whose song is recorded by someone else registers only the composition.

The cheaper Single Application is narrower. It can cover one recording and its composition only if the author is the only performer featured on the recording and the only owner of both works. Anything else, including a co-writer, a featured guest or a producer who shares ownership, moves the filing to the Standard Application.

How do you register a whole album?

Through Group Registration for Works on an Album of Music, known as GRAM. One application can register up to twenty musical works, or up to twenty sound recordings along with the album's artwork, photographs or liner notes, but not both kinds in the same application: compositions go on the application for "musical works from an album," and recordings on the one for "sound recordings from an album" (37 CFR 202.4(k)). The rules also require that the works share an author or a common joint author, that the claimants be the same for every work, and, as a general rule, that every work be first published on the same album. A track released earlier as a single can still be included if its own publication date is listed.

What about songs that are not released yet?

Group Registration for Unpublished Works, or GRUW, registers up to ten unpublished works in one application, filed online with digital deposits. The works must all be unpublished and in the same registration class, and each needs its own title. In some cases the group can hold up to ten sound recordings together with ten underlying musical works (37 CFR 202.4(c)). Once a work is released, it no longer qualifies for this option.

Who goes on the application when a song has several writers or owners?

The author of a composition is whoever created the music or the lyrics. The author of a sound recording is the featured performer, or the producer who captured, manipulated or edited the sounds, or both. If a work was made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is named instead, and only certain commissioned works with a signed agreement qualify (Circular 56A). The claimant is either the author or someone who now owns the copyright, and a claimant who is not an author has to state how it obtained the rights, for example by written agreement.

This is where undocumented splits cause trouble. If co-writers have not agreed who owns what, the application cannot be completed accurately, and the group options will not work at all unless the authors and claimants line up. Our post on music copyright ownership disputes explains how those conversations go when they happen too late. Producers often settle their share of the recording income separately, which our page on producer royalties and letters of direction walks through.

When should you register, and how long does it take?

Before release, or within three months after it. Statutory damages and attorney's fees are not available for infringement of an unpublished work that began before registration, or for infringement that began after release and before registration, unless the work was registered within three months of first publication (17 U.S.C. 412). What those remedies can be worth is set out in our page on copyright infringement damages.

A music video for the track is a separate audiovisual work with its own ownership and registration; see who owns a music video.

Processing still takes months. For cases closed from October 2025 through March 2026, the Copyright Office reports an average of 4.1 months for all claims, and 3.6 months for online claims with uploaded deposits that needed no correspondence.

Our page on copyright registration cost and processing time lists every current fee and the special handling option.

What changes the answer

• Work made for hire, co-authors or co-owners. The Single Application is closed to works made for hire, works by more than one author and works with more than one owner (37 CFR 202.3(b)(2)(i)(B)(3)).
• Whether the song is published. Publication means distributing copies to the public, or offering them to a group for further distribution or public performance; a performance alone does not publish a song (Circular 56A). Only unpublished works fit GRUW (37 CFR 202.4(c)(1)).
• The release format. An unpublished work needs one copy, a published work two copies of the best edition (17 U.S.C. 408(b)).
• Material you do not own. Samples, earlier releases and public domain material go in the application's limitation of claim (Circular 56A). Clearing a sample first is covered in our guide on how to legally clear a music sample.
• The recording date. The sound recording class covers recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972 (37 CFR 202.3(b)(1)(iv)). Older recordings follow different rules, explained in our page on pre-1972 sound recordings.
• A risk of leaks before release. Songs and recordings can be preregistered (17 U.S.C. 408(f); 37 CFR 202.16).

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Registering only the master and assuming the song underneath is covered. Circular 56A says a recording's registration does not reach the composition.
• Filing a Single Application for a track with a co-writer, a featured guest or a hired producer. The rule bars works with more than one author or owner (37 CFR 202.3(b)(2)(i)(B)(3)).
• Uploading a .zip file, or files named differently from the titles, on a GRAM claim. The rule asks for one file per work, each named to match its title (37 CFR 202.4(k)(3)(iii)).
• Uploading a digital file for an album already sold on CD or vinyl, which the Office's processing guidance lists as a cause of delay.
• Letting the three-month window after release pass while the album is promoted. For infringement that starts in the gap, statutory damages and attorney's fees are then off the table.
• Using a supplementary registration to show that the copyright was later sold; it cannot reflect a later change in ownership (37 CFR 202.6(d)(4)).

What to do this week

1. List every track with who wrote the music and lyrics, who performs and who produced.
2. Gather the signed split sheets, producer agreements, assignments and any work made for hire agreement.
3. Put the release date, and the date three months after it, on your calendar.
4. Choose the filings: GRUW before release, GRAM after, or Standard or Single Applications for tracks whose authors or owners differ.
5. Prepare one audio file per work, named exactly as its title and under 500 MB, or set aside two CDs for a physical release.
6. Watch the email address on the application and answer any examiner question in full within 45 days.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register to own the copyright in my song?

No. The Copyright Act says registration is not a condition of copyright protection (17 U.S.C. 408(a)). Registration matters for enforcement: it affects remedies and generally has to come before a lawsuit.

Can I sue for infringement before my registration comes through?

For a United States work, a civil action generally cannot be filed until registration or preregistration has been made, or the Office has refused a complete application (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). Our page on copyright lawsuits in Atlanta federal court explains what follows once a case is filed.

What if I made a mistake or left a co-writer off the application?

A supplementary registration, filed online for $100, can correct information that was wrong when the registration was made or add information that was left out, such as a co-author or co-claimant (37 CFR 202.6(d)). It adds to the original record rather than replacing it, and the original registration is not cancelled (17 U.S.C. 408(d)).

Does registering the song protect the title or my band name?

No. Circular 56A notes that names and track titles are not copyrightable. A title can sometimes work as a trademark, as our page on whether you can trademark a song title explains. An act's name is covered in trademarking a band or artist name.

Can I protect a song before it is released if I am worried about a leak?

Preregistration costs $200 and is open to songs and recordings being prepared for release, as long as at least part of the work is fixed (37 CFR 202.16). It is not a full registration: the application, deposit and fee are due within three months after release, or within one month of learning of an infringement if that comes first (17 U.S.C. 408(f)(3), (4)).

How long does the copyright I am registering last?

Registration does not change how long the copyright lasts. Our page on how long a song's copyright lasts sets out the terms for compositions and recordings.

Zala IP Law handles registration and splits for artists, songwriters and producers, from the founder's own background as a working musician. If you have a release coming, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701 to plan the filings before the date is set.