Just answered a question from u/SonOfSteve07 on r/mixingmastering about this, but it was unfortunately deleted. The mod said it belongs here, and I thought at least some people don't know this info yet!

Imagine that you just put the finishing touches on your song, EP, or album, and you can't wait to share it with the world! Saliva begins to pool under your tongue, as you prepare to upload the final master to YouTube.

But wait!

You're putting your hard work at risk! People might enjoy it so much that they'll claim it to be their own, or worse yet, sell it as their own, leaving you out of the deal!

To legally protect your music and claim 99% of the royalties that your work earns, be sure to do the following:

1. Register your music with the Library of Congress at www.loc.gov. Does require a fee though.

2. Sign up and register your music on www.soundexchange.com

3. Register your music with one of a few Publishing Rights Organizations, such as www.ascap.com or www.bmi.com . Also requires a fee, last I checked. SESAC is another PRO, but it is invite only.

   And those three steps should protect your music and get you your royalties! Lastly, make sure you put your music on Bandcamp, as it surpasses any streaming service for fairness and royalties towards artists, and utilize a digital music distributor (Distrokid is great) to put your music out everywhere (Apple music and iTunes still being the head streaming honchos). Post your music to YouTube and share it on IG, and you'll be making waves in no time.

This is what I have learned from industry veterans, during my work with an independent music label since April. If anything here is incorrect or there is more information that is relevant, I'd love to know!!

DISCLAIMER

The purpose of registering your music with these entities is to give them legal protection against other people profiting from your work and to capture all your deserved royalties, such as streams, use of your music in videos, someone selling your song, etc.

The vast majority of people do not follow these steps. In turn, they should have no expectations to earn even close to all the royalties that they could, and if anybody steals their music, they will have a much harder time doing something about it.

If you don't intend to profit from your music and you don't care about people using your music without your consent, then feel free to skip the extra work.