Don't Get Robbed: Your Essential Guide to Music Royalties & Copyright Protection

The transcript from the Top Music Attorney on a YouTube channel, titled "#1 Mistake Artists Make With BMI & ASCAP," addresses common errors artists make when registering music with performance rights organizations (PROs) like ASCAP and BMI. The video details numerous mistakes, such as waiting too long to register music—which causes artists to miss out on retroactive performance royalties—and falsely believing that PRO registration offers copyright protection, which must be secured separately through the U.S. Copyright Office. Other key points include the clarification that artists do not need a separate publisher to collect both writer and publisher shares of royalties and the need to register music one song at a time rather than as an entire album. Finally, the attorney emphasizes the importance of registering copyright as the critical step that provides the legal rights necessary to pursue statutory damages in infringement cases, such as the class action lawsuit mentioned involving independent artists and AI training.