Just a short comment... many new artists are being "discovered" on a few social media platforms (TikTok, YouTube) and getting record deals "after" they have already become famous. Similar to the old adage, "instead of bringing the mountain to Mohamed, bring Mohamed to the mountain".

Your son should register his copyrights in his music BEFORE reaching out to labels.

As soon as your son writes a given song, records a performance of his song, saves the song to file, and/or the like – its various copyrights come into existence automatically. However, to perfect the bundles of rights that are included in a given copyright, your son needs to register those copyrights at the U.S. Copyright Office. This can be done online and at a relatively small cost.

Note, with music there are generally two copyrights per song, one in the written form of the song (the Copyright Office calls this a musical composition [or musical work] copyright) and the other copyright is in the recorded form of the song (the Copyright Office calls this a sound recording copyright). (Note, the music industry itself often uses different terminology.) Note, the written form of the song need not be in physical form (e.g., on paper), but could be in some digital file format.

If your son is the only person that is creatively involved in both the writing side of things and on the performance recording side of things, then often both types of copyrights may be accounted for in a single copyright registration application.

Under the rights conditions, up to ten (10) unpublished songs may be filed in a single copyright registration application for one U.S. Copyright Office fee, as sound recordings, and both types of copyrights may be accounted for. Note, “publication” under U.S. copyright law has a particular meaning that differs from the ordinary English usage of the word.

I suggest having a copyright attorney walk your son through the copyright registration application process; and then thereafter your son may feel competent to do so on his own in the future.

Also note, modernly pursuing label representation is much less common than it used to be. Songwriters, singers, musicians, etc. can be very successful without any third-party label representation – but learning about the music industry/business is a must. Read up on some books on the topic. There is a lot to understand and wrap your head around. You need to understand all the players involved in the business, all the different types of licenses and royalties, and all the different places one may want to register both themselves and their songs. The different types of licenses and royalties trace back to the two different types of copyrights. In terms of all the players in the business, there may be, labels (record companies), publishing companies (which may be the same as the labels/record companies), the PROs (e.g., BMI), the MLC, Harry Fox, sound administrators (e.g., SongTrust), SoundExchange, distributors (e.g., DistroKid), and others.

Note, modernly, its fairly common for the singer/songwriter to be their own label and publishing company. Use of a distributor is important for collecting royalties associated from any interactive streaming (e.g., from Spotify, iTunes, and/or the like); whereas, in the U.S., use of SoundExchange is important for collecting royalties associated with non-interactive online/digital sources (e.g., satellite radio, online radio, free Pandora, and the like).

If there is no question but your best route through this is to file a US copyright ASAP. You also ought to get hold of an entertainment lawyer for the rest of the business because getting a song in play is another story entirely.

Any creative expression will be covered by copyright law automatically. Then you register the work with the US Copyright Office so to perfect your bundle of federal rights like the right to access the courts, the right to ask for statutory damages (sometimes the only damages worth bringing the case over), the right to attorney fees, etc.

If you need help or clarification, I suggest that you consult with a lawyer in private and discuss your objectives in more detail. You can start by calling around to several for a free phone consultation, get some insights then pick the best fit to work with.

Best regards,
Frank
Natoli-Legal, LLC

Protecting the songs via copyright registrations is a good idea. If the songs have lyrics, those should be protected separately. It is likely the songs will be produced differently, but it is good to go into potential meetings fully protected. You may have to assign rights in the copyrights over to a producer/publisher, but that can be a part of the negotiation. It would be best to seek the advice of an IP or entertainment lawyer to make sure you are handling everything correctly. Use Avvo's Find a Lawyer tab to find just such an lawyer.