📌 Introduction
To register a track with Soundreef, it is essential to hold the rights to the work and comply with copyright rules.
If a work is not entirely yours, specific authorizations may be required. Additionally, some tracks cannot be managed without verification by Soundreef.
👉 This guide provides everything you need to know before proceeding with registration.
🎼 Original and Unpublished Tracks
If you have composed an original track, you can register it with Soundreef, correctly indicating all rights holders.
✔ You can register it even if you don't have a publisher.
✔ If you have co-authors or publishers, you must indicate the full chain of ownership.
✔ If some rights holders are registered with other collecting societies, they will need to register the track separately with their management company.
📌 Important: Soundreef does not establish the division of shares among rights holders, which is always a private agreement between the parties.
🎶 Reworkings, Remixes, and Covers: Rules to Follow
If the track is not entirely yours, you need the consent of the original authors and publishers.
💡 When is authorization needed?
Cover → The original track is still protected, authorization is required.
Rearrangements → If you modify an existing track, you must obtain consent - even for registration.
Remix → Even if the master is modified, the work remains protected by original rights.
Third-party samples and beats → If the track includes parts of other works, you must demonstrate that you have obtained a usage license.
📌 Attention: If a track is registered without authorization, Soundreef will archive it and report the violation to the rights holders.
🎼 Public Domain Tracks: Verification Required
If a track has fallen into the public domain (if 70 years have passed since the death of the last author/composer and there are no longer any publishers), you can register a reworking, but only if:
✔ The work is indeed in the public domain.
✔ The reworking contains a significant creative contribution.
💡 How to proceed?
Contact Soundreef support and send the audio file.
Soundreef will verify if the work can be considered new and protectable.
If the verification is positive, you can register the track and must mention the original authors/composers with a share of 0%.
📌 Attention: A registration without verification will be automatically canceled.
🤖 AI-Generated Tracks and Copyright: What to Know
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in music creation raises important legal and copyright protection issues. Soundreef follows the guidelines of the European Commission and the European AI Act, ensuring that registered tracks meet the requirements of human authorship.
📌 When can a track be registered?
✔ If AI was used as a support in creation, and you actively guided the creative process, making significant modifications to the final result, the track can be considered an original work and thus registered with Soundreef.
🚫 When can a track NOT be registered?
❌ If the track was entirely generated by AI, without any human creative intervention, it cannot be protected by copyright and cannot be managed by Soundreef.
📜 The Regulatory Framework: European AI Act and Copyright Protection
Soundreef adheres to the EU copyright regulations, which establish that a work must have human authorship to be protectable.
The European AI Act, which came into force in 2024, has defined precise rules for the transparency and management of AI-generated content, establishing that:
✔ It must be clear if a work was created with AI.
✔ Automatically generated content without human contribution cannot benefit from copyright protection.
For 2025, a Code of Conduct is expected at the European level, which will provide even more detailed guidance for authors, AI developers, and Collecting Societies.
🔍 Repertoire Checks and Registration Verifications
Soundreef conducts regular repertoire checks to verify that all registered tracks comply with copyright rules.
🚨 If a registration is not compliant (for example, a cover without authorization), it will be canceled and may be reported for a more in-depth verification of the entire repertoire.
💡 How to avoid problems?
✔ Ensure you hold all rights to the tracks you register.
✔ If you use pre-existing works, obtain the necessary authorizations.
✔ If in doubt, contact Soundreef before proceeding with registration.
❓ FAQ
▶️ If a track is registered without authorization, does Soundreef remove it? Yes, if we detect inconsistencies in the rights, the registration is archived.
▶️ Is authorization needed for a cover even if I change the arrangement? Yes, because the original track remains protected.
▶️ Can I register a public domain track without verifying it with Soundreef? No, verification with Soundreef is required before registration.
📌 Conclusion
Registering a track with Soundreef is simple, but it is important to comply with copyright rules.
✔ Original works → Registrable without limitations, and in compliance with your ownership share agreements.
✔ Rearrangements and remixes → Written authorization is required.
✔ Public domain → Requires prior verification with Soundreef.
✔ Artificial Intelligence → There must be a significant human creative contribution.
💡 If you have doubts, contact the Service support via Messenger on the website or in your account before proceeding.