CD Baby has partnered with Cosynd, the first affordable legal services platform made specifically for creators, to allow CD Baby’s members to document ownership of their content easier than ever before. Starting this November, the partnership will provide CD Baby’s members with a fast, affordable, and legal way to create basic copyright ownership agreements and to register their content with the U.S. Copyright Office, making CD Baby the only digital distributor to offer these valuable services to creators.
Cosynd offers both free and paid tiers of service. Under the partnership, CD Baby’s members will receive 1 month of free access to Cosynd’s Essential and Premium tiers, which will enable these members to create unlimited copyright split sheets (straightforward documentation of copyright ownership by percentage), full copyright ownership agreements (more detailed agreements covering vitals such as who can license the content), and work for hire agreements. Members will also be able to register their copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office in a fraction of the time it would typically take a novice creator otherwise.
Without an ownership agreement in place, collaborators that created a copyright have an equal claim of ownership and rights by default, regardless of the size of their contribution under U.S. copyright law. Misunderstandings between collaborators can lead to a slew of legal issues including improper exploitation of copyrights and unpaid royalties. To date, an estimated $2.5 billion worth of “black box” royalties have gone unclaimed, because of a lack of available ownership data. Creators seeking to resolve matters of ownership and infringement are ineligible to file lawsuits unless they have registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Cosynd is the first platform to make documenting and managing this crucial ownership data and filing copyright registrations a breeze for creators of all types of content - music, videos, imagery, and literature. Whether creating a fast split sheet or a more extensive copyright ownership agreement, Cosynd walks each creator through building their custom agreement by asking a series of questions in non-legalese. Collaborators can assign default roles and splits to each other and multiple titles can be added to a single agreement at any time, eliminating redundant work. Aside from the variety of agreements available, Cosynd requires real e-signatures, which sets them apart from other platforms and is key for collaborators that face questions regarding ownership from content platforms, like YouTube. Once an agreement has been signed, collaborators cannot go back and change the ownership splits, as they can on other split sheet apps. Creators may also invite their attorneys to review/edit the agreements if they wish to at no additional charge.
“Making it easy for artists to manage the rights around their music catalog is a key part of being a total monetization solution. Our partnership with Cosynd provides these tools in a very accessible way,” says Tracy Maddux, CEO of CD Baby.
“There is more content being created and more opportunities to monetize that content than ever before. If you’re a creator, documenting ownership of your copyrights is a crucial step from the beginning - otherwise you won’t get paid! Disputes arise, liability increases, lawsuits ensue, and we all suffer the losses. CD Baby is one of the most trusted names in the music business and the go-to resource for educational information concerning music promotion, distribution, and rights management. We’re thrilled to be partnering with them to help creators protect themselves and their rights from the very start,” says Jessica Sobhraj, CEO of Cosynd.
