Do my instrumental beats need to be completley mixed/mastered before I copyright them

[lakwaun]

Minnesota
Just wondering does my instrumental beats need to be completley mixed/mastered before I copyright them?
What I usually do is make the beat/melody and give it a quick mix since I usually always go back later to master, then with all the instruments playing export in wav/mp3 about 1 minutes or so with a short intro on some maybe to file for copyrighting.
This is just the quickest way I do things to copyright a lot of beats at once.

Does anybody know is that good enough or would or could that be acceptable in case of a copyrights issue?

Or do my beats need to be fully mixed and mastered before copy writing them?

 

[justalayman]

they are "copyrighted" upon creation. You are speaking to registering your copyrights, I presume.

 

[Sloop John D]

I don't think they will need to be fully mixed and mastered. The music itself is copyrightable. The particular mix you settle on shouldn't have any impact.

 

[quincy]

For more information, you can check out the following circular from the U.S. Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ50.pdf.