Sound Recording

Definition from the copyright law, 17 U.S.C. 101:

A work resulting from the fixation of a series of musical or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.

From Compendium of Copyright Office Practices, sec. 495.01:

Sound recording authorship may be contributed by the performer or by the record producer and many times is contributed by both.

Eligibility: All sound recordings, including those having musical compositions as well as other types of underlying works, e.g., spoken poems, are eligible for preregistration. In addition, it is required that:

• at least some of the sounds must already have been fixed in a sound recording medium;
• the claimant in the work can verify that he has a reasonable expectation that the work will be commercially distributed