First, there is a risk of not receiving proper royalties. That means your music is not registered.
Now imagine a scenario where you’re out there performing your song. It’s on all the social media platforms and gets traction and somebody claims the music, registers the music in their name, and figures out how to recreate what you created in their way as proof that they made the music.
Now you can’t claim it as your own. You don’t have any paper trail showing this is your song. If you’re an independent artist, it’s even worse because you might not be able to afford legal representation to ensure that you protect whatever somebody is trying to take from you.
Please check out a previous blog: How do I register my songs before releasing them?
Second, potential legal issues with unauthorised use. Imagine somebody has claimed that song and it’s out there because it’s buzzing. When you are using it and want to perform it for people, even if you want to perform it for fun, that person can come and claim royalties from you or stop you from using the music that way.
Thirdly, there are missed opportunities for recognition and income. Now somebody else is known for the work that you put in because you didn’t bother to register the song or the music that you have put out there and these are the dangers of performing unregistered music.
There are artists out there who are just doing their thing, sharing their talent. They don’t care to be famous. They don’t care to make money, and they don’t care to be recognised for the work they have produced. But if you’re not this artist, then you do care and you want to make sure that whatever you create and put out there, there’s a paper trail. Make sure you register the music. At the very least once you’ve created it, put it on paper, go to the police station, put your signature on it, get their stamp on it, and do what you must do to protect your work.
If your music catches traction, having a paper trail can prove that you created it first and protect it from unauthorised use. But sometimes that is not enough. You might need legal representation because if it’s you against lawyers and you can’t afford lawyers you might lose that battle. Or at the very least, if you’re good enough in representing yourself and you know a lot about music and the use of it then you might be able to negotiate a deal and get something out of somebody using your music that isn’t registered.
Please register your music whether you intend to be famous or not, be recognised or not. In this economy, every cent counts and you want to make all the money that you can with the skills and talents that God has given you.
I’d like to help you solidify your journey and turn it into something professional and that ends up feeding you. You know what you’ve got to do.
If you have any comments or questions regarding this topic, or you want to share some of the experiences you’ve had on this topic, please leave a comment below.
Thank you for taking the time to watch or read.
Until next time,
DalliRated!
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