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Step 1
Make sure you have a license to record the musical composition. If you didn't write the music, you will need to have permission from the copyright owner in order to do so.
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Step 2
Know your rights. From the moment you create the recording, you are the legal owner and you have copyright. Everything you do from here is designed to insure that your copyright is legally recognized.
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Step 3
Register your copyright. You can, for a fee, register your MP3 music with the Library of Congress. This will insure that there is a public record of the copyright of your MP3 music. This is probably the most reliable and safest way to copyright MP3 music.
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Step 4
Consider other measures to protect yourself. You can, for example, mail yourself a Compact Disc with your copyrighted MP3 music on the disc. Leave the envelope sealed. The date on the postmark stamp may be able to be used to prove you mailed it to yourself on a given date, which may be able to help you establish proof of your copyright to the MP3 music.
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Step 5
Be clear about your copyright with other people. If you put your MP3 on your web site, make sure you note that the file is copyrighted, even if you are giving it away for free, so that someone else can't try to claim the copyright for your MP3 music.
