As soon as you have created your song, you are protected under copyright law. The protection becomes applicable automatically and requires no special registration.  To be able to show that you have owned the song since creation in the future, you can post a recording or notes to yourself by registered letter.  Remember that STIM cannot protect your song from theft or plagiarism – our task is to ensure that you receive payment when your song is played in public. It is easy to join STIM as a creator using our online form. You may also read more about plagiarism and theft.