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My Dad has a 1951 Mercury behind his garage. It doesn't run. It looks awful. It has an empty space where the back seat used to be. Dad thinks it is beautiful. I just shake my head in disbelief at how he could think so. He claims that he is restoring it. He's been restoring now for several years. But it still looks just like it did the day he had it towed home at placed behind the garage.

I did notice something interesting about his car one day. The doors have no working locks on them. Anyone can get inside it. And Dad's property has no fence around it. So anyone has access to his car at anytime. Someone could easily steal it. But who would want to??? I don't think Dad has anything to worry about.

I recently sat in on a Songwriting seminar in Nashville, at the Stamps Baxter School. The speaker was Niles Borop, of Centergy Music Group. Almost all of the writers there were beginners. Most of them had written less than 25 songs. There was one student that had written a song that had been recorded by a choir. But no one else had ever had anything published or recorded.

Niles opened the session by taking questions from the students. For the first full hour all that was discussed is how to protect your song from being stolen.

There was a spirit of fear and trembling in the room. Apparently the BIG BAD SONG THIEF MONSTER had been knocking on all their doors, trying to get a peek at their lyrics and melodies. Most everyone thought that if they ever did get a song recorded, it would only be because someone stole it from them.

And they all felt that if the song was taken from them, it would absolutely sell at least a million illegal companies, thus making the thief extremely wealthy. The writer would be left in eternal poverty with nothing but the torn clothes on their back and tin cup. I couldn't believe how afraid these writers were.

If you are one of those writers that write in fear and trembling, let me ease your mind. Yes, it is true that someone could steal your song one day. But is not very likely to happen. You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery six weeks in a row. There's even a better chance that my Dad will be awakened late one night to hear some international car thief towing away his old rusty car. But I really don't think there is a respectable car thief out there that would take what my Dad's got.

First of all, you have to have created a piece of product that someone wants before you start worrying about theft. And then when someone does show interest in the song, that does not mean that they want to steal it. Most Gospel Music Publishers are legitimite companies that follow Copyright Law. Maybe there is a Gospel Song Shark out there somewhere, but apparently I've never swam in those waters, because I've not seen them.

When I worked for Homeland Publishing, I found a song where the writer was unknown. The song was very good. I played it for one of Homeland's artists, and they recorded it. We launched a search to find the writer. We wanted to find them so that we could obtain proper Copyright information on the song, and pay the appropriate royalties. It took some searching, but we did locate them.

The writer informed us that the song had never been published They had never registered a Copyright on it, and had never received any royalties for it, although it had already been recorded by two other major artists. The song had become well known just by being passed around and sung from church to church.

Homeland Publishing offered to publish the song for them, collect and pay the royalties on current and past recordings. The contract was our standard Single Song Agreement Contract. It was 100% fair and legal. The writer agreed to it on the phone. But by the time the paperwork arrived in the mail, the writer's friends and family had convinced them that they should not let SONG THIEVES in Nashville Tennessee "steal" it.

The writer refused to sign the contract. So we backed off and let them do as they pleased. I don't know that the song has ever been published, or if the writer has yet to receive one dime from it. But at least they have the satisfaction of knowing that we did not "steal" it.

I suppose that it is human nature to fear the unknown. That is why it is so important for a songwriter to learn the basics of Copyright Law, Copyright Registration, and Publishing. You need to understand the role of a Performing Rights Organization like BMI or ASCAP or SESAC. You don't have to be an expert, but at least learn the basics. There are many books, magazines, and websites that can help you gain this information.

I carry a wallet with me everywhere I go. It usually has some cash in it. It holds all my credit cards and my identification. Can it be stolen? Yes. Do I carry it anyway? Yes. I know that there is a risk, but the risk is worth having my cash, credit cards and I.D. with me when I need it.

I need to close now. I think it's my turn to stand guard over my Dad's car tonight!!!

Until next time, keep on writing!

Daryl Williams
http://www.darylwilliamstrio.net

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