Of course, you would need to set yourself up as a self-publisher to handle your own copyrights; you’ll need to register your own copyrights and get your works re-registered with performing rights agencies to make sure you get the money your songs are generating, but it’s really not that hard to learn. Plenty of resources exist to walk you through those aspects of running your own music business life – if you need to bone up quickly, check my book at the bottom of the page! But, my point is, there are excellent resources at your fingertips!
The greatest transfer of wealth the music industry has ever seen is about to take place, starting next year – you CAN be on the receiving end in the coming years if you have copyrights dating from 1978 or later. If you have copyrights dating earlier than that, the reversion period is a much longer 56 years… that is, if you had things published in 1956, 2012 is your year! But if you had songs published in 1977, you’re going to have to wait a while… 2033 to be exact.
But, it never hurts to ask – if you have a song that has a copyright between 1956 and 1977, ask for your copyrights back anyway, and prepare your heirs to keep asking, and keep asking, and keep asking. Perhaps you can benefit from the tremendous momentum that is going to start next year, as copyrights and wealth-creating opportunities begin to come back to music creators from the music industry!