Susan,

Do so, but remember that what Dave (Darrowyn) is referring to is the mechanical copyright of the particular performance. The copyright belongs to the producer because he, she, they, or it is deemed to have created the mechanical recording of the performance. In the USA that would mean the kind of copyright that a producer would register with Form SR, and it gives protection against piracy of that performance.

That does not in any way mean the producer owns the copyright to the underlying songs themselves. As both Dave and I have pointed out, that is an entirely separate matter. You would register your copyright for the songs or collection of songs you created by filing Form PA.

In your case, which involves a demo CD rather than a finished product ready for commercial distribution, it seems that your primary concern is protecting the songs themselves. For that you need to use Form PA.

In my case, to give just one example, I recently recorded a Utah Phillips song, Rock Me to Sleep. On Strike Music, Utah Phillips' publisher, owns the copyright to the song itself, since he assigned it to them. I, however, own the copyright to that particular recording, since I am the producer of the CD on which it is being released. If someone else wants to record Rock Me to Sleep, he or she only needs to get a license from On Strike Music. However, if someone wants to reproduce my particular recording on a compilation CD, he or she would need licenses from both On Strike Music and from me.

--- Steve