Outcome. Register a musical work and a sound recording with the US Copyright Office and know what registration actually buys you.

Registration is not what creates your copyright. What it buys you is access to federal court for a US work, a public record of your ownership, and standing you do not otherwise have.

For a US work you must be registered before you can file an infringement suit in federal court. That single sentence is the reason to register before you release rather than after something goes wrong.

Registration needs an application, a filing fee and a copy of the work, and the online application differs by type. The Copyright Office circulars covering sound recordings, musical compositions and works made for hire are the reference, and they are free.

For disputes under thirty thousand dollars there is also the Copyright Claims Board, a voluntary forum inside the Copyright Office, which is a real option for an independent artist who cannot fund a federal case.

What you will produce

At least one completed registration, and a registration checklist you run on every future release.