Registering Copyrights: Why and How

When you put pen to paper and write an original song, you have created and acquired a copyright. Registering that copyright, however, has several added benefits:

1) Registration creates a public record of your claim of copyright.

2) Registration is required before suing someone for copyright infringement in court.

3) If you register the song within five years of publication, that registration will serve as evidence of the validity of your copyright and the facts on your registration certificate.

4) Registration allows the copyright owner to sign up with U.S. Customs for protection against importation of pirated copies of your music.

5) Perhaps most importantly, if you register within three months of publication or prior to infringement of your song(s), statutory damages and attorneys’ fees will be available in a court action. If you have a claim of copyright infringement, one of the first questions your lawyer will ask is when you registered your copyright. The answer can have substantial monetary implications.

[Read more]

String Squeak

String squeak occurs when a guitar player slides his or her left hand along a string, or changes left hand positions without fully lifting the left hand off of the string before shifting. String squeak is a sound that has been captured endlessly on guitar albums since the birth of recording. I had to redo a track completely on my last album because the squeaks were too prevalent.

Oddly enough, many guitar players actually find string squeak to be pleasing, or at least tolerable. But a classical guitar friend with dozens of albums under his belt made a good point to me the other night: the average listener hates string squeak.

[Read more]

Knowing the Standard

For any inventor, it is essential to understand what the “standard” currently is, in order to improve upon it. The “state of the art” is usually a product of countless hours, years and work from many people. Learning to play the guitar is no different. So many guitar players have stepped on the shoulders of those that came before them, to help them develop their technique and musicality. Once you see or hear something, it’s generally much easier to duplicate than if you attempted the same feat without hearing someone else do it.

[Read more]