Strange. The US Copyright office disagrees with you.
U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright in General (FAQ)
If you read my post I am making the argument for copyright protection. I actually made the point that the work is copyrighted as soon as the work is put into the public domain. I also made the point that there is no protection unless it is registered. Seems the Office of Copyrights agrees completely.
If you record the songs and release them on a disc, the copyright C, name of artist, and year it was released is all you need for protection.
You cannot, however, bring a case of copyright infringement to court without registration.
So if you cannot bring a case of copyright infringement without registration, exactly what "protection" do you get from releasing a disc with the (c) , name of the artist, etc.? How about none. You are making my point regarding the need to register your work to have protection, (meaning being able to bring a case for copyright infringement).
Fun fact about service marks: Simply registering them doesn't mean you own it indefinitely. Service mark protection is earned through usage, not registration. If you register something and never use it, somebody else can use the crap out of it and then sue you for rights. This prevents people from "camping" trade names.