Unbeknownst to some, writing and recording a song can give you up to three different copyrights. This is why music law and music copyrights are so cool, as they are unlike any other type of intellectual property.
Song copyright types
Recording a song can give you copyright in the music, copyright in the lyrics, and then the copyright in the actual sound recording, i.e. those wave / mp3 files with your music on it. It’s a very strange concept to have a copyright in a sound recording, but it is a very powerful right. Whenever an artist signs with a record label, the labels are only concerned about the copyrights in the sound recording. You can make a lot of money with song copyright, so it’s best if you protect it.
