Where are you located? I have lived and worked in Europe, but most rules are international.

1. Copyright
In most countries and according to international law, the copyrights to a song are automatically yours from the moment you write it. You don’t need to do anything officially to ensure that, but you need to somehow make sure that, if your song becomes a great hit and someone else tries to steal it, you’ll be able to prove in court that you wrote it first. After a few years I realised that:
a) none of my songs would be so immensely profitable as to make someone else go into the trouble of stealing them. The few people who have sung my songs were usually friends who credited me with the writing.
b) proving a song is yours (if and when you have to) is so easy, especially today, that you don’t need to worry about it before it starts climbing up the charts. Basically, all you’d have to do is for example upload it on youtube, and then use your upload date as proof. The old way was to send it via registered mail to yourself, then keep the envelope sealed to be opened at court if there ever was a dispute. As you can imagine, I had drawers full of old tapes in sealed envelopes (I was smart enough to label them individually though).

2. Practical issues
I cannot help you if you’re in America for example, though I’m sure a simple search online (or looking in the yellow pages) will yield some interesting results. I used to work with a factory in Czechoslovakia, which as far as I know still exists. It was in the centre of Europe and also had the cheapest prices, which meant that it was worth travelling all the way from England (where I used to live back then) and have a little working holiday for a few days every month.

In any case, do not hesitate to ask me if you have any questions along the way.

November 12th, 2012

Regarding your answer:

August 15th, 2012

Regarding your answer:
That is great information, I am interviewing for a position in the West side of Chula Vista.

Thanks again,
T.W.

July 9th, 2012