Walkthrough — Filing Your First Copyright (eCO)

The U.S. Copyright Office uses an online portal called eCO (electronic Copyright Office). Here's the path most artists take:

1. Pick the right form

• PA (Performing Arts) — for the underlying composition (lyrics + melody).
• SR (Sound Recording) — for the master.
• File BOTH for each work you fully own. Yes, that's two registrations.

2. Group registration to save money

• GRUW — Group Registration of Unpublished Works (up to 10 unpublished works in one filing).
• GRAM — Group Registration of Music Album (one album, one filing — up to 20 tracks).
• These cut filing fees from per-song to per-batch. Use them.

3. Required deliverables

• A clean WAV or MP3 of each work
• Lyrics as a separate text/PDF (for compositions)
• Author/claimant info matching what's on your PRO

4. After you file

• Save your case number immediately.
• Registration certificate arrives by mail in 3–9 months. Scan it. Back it up to cloud.
• Add the certificate number to your master metadata spreadsheet.

5. Common mistakes to avoid

• Registering only the master and forgetting the composition.
• Filing under your stage name without listing your legal name as author. Your legal name is the author; your stage name is a pseudonym.
• Missing co-writers — every contributor must be listed exactly as on the split sheet.

Action items

• This week: download a blank split sheet template.
• This month: file at least one GRUW or GRAM batch.
• Quarterly: register every new release within 90 days of release date.