You must only register songs with Songtrust for which you have full or partial songwriting ownership.
- When you have co-writers: Ideally you and your collaborators will have agreed on the split picture before the song is released, with a signed split sheet or other agreement. Without this agreement in advance, your co-writers could register splits that conflict with your registrations, and until this is resolved, nobody will be paid publishing royalties for the song.
- Remixes: If you are the remixer, you can only register the song with Songtrust if you have an agreement with the original writers that gives you a songwriting share. Many remix agreements do not include a share of the songwriting, so make sure you are clear on your rights before registering. And though it should go without saying: if you make an unlicensed “unofficial” remix of a song without recording and publishing clearance, you cannot release it legally - and you absolutely cannot register it with Songtrust.
- Public Domain Arrangements: While you can register arrangements of public domain works with Songtrust, you must be sure that the composition is actually in the public domain - you cannot release or register a re-arrangement of a song that is still under copyright without permission from the song’s publisher. If you need to confirm that the work is in the public domain, this is a good resource.
- Covers: By definition, a cover is your performance of another songwriter’s song, and you therefore do not have any songwriting ownership. You cannot and must not register a cover song in your Songtrust account.
Remember these guidelines, and only register songs with us for which you have full or partial ownership - and you’ll be on your way to collecting all your global publishing royalties with Songtrust.