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Avoid the penalities of ignoring church music copyright licensing.

Don’t be a copyright pirate.
Photo provided by biwook

I’ll admit that a long time ago…errrrr, I’d better not admit anything!  And thus begins our foray into the realm of copyright law, copyright infringement, and everything you need to know so your church stays out of trouble.  As a church, can you play any music you want?  Is it ok to show a video clip with “Eye of the Tiger” as the music bed?  Much of the copyright infringement that occurs is because many of us have believed three myths.  I’m not sure how these false beliefs came about but I can tell you one thing, if you’re reading this, well, go and sin no more.

The Three Big Church Music Copyright Myths

Myth #1: We are a church and therefore are exempt from copyright / performance licensing.

I’ve been there.  Or maybe I haven’t.  This is the trap in which most people fall.  Just because you are a religious organization that gets a tax break, it doesn’t mean you get a copyright break.  It doesn’t mean you can use other people’s copyrighted work in any way you see fit.  Oh, there are some things you can do, but there is a lot you can’t.

Truth:

Churches do not need a performance license to play / perform copyrighted music IN A WORSHIP SERVICE.  Note the importance of those last words.  Your church might play music in their coffee shop.  They might play it as part of their telephone’s “on hold” music.  Oh, and don’t forget about Vacation Bible School!  In such cases, you need to follow copyright protocol and pay for the licensing.  It’s only in the case of the worship service that you are free to use the music either by playing it or performing it.  There is one exception but let’s keep this simple for now.

Myth #2: Our CCLI license keeps us protected regarding performance licensing.

You wish.  The generic CCLI covers printing of songs, hymns, and lyrics for congregational singing.  It covers those creative Christmas songbooks your church hands out during the Christmas service…for congregational singing. The CCLI license also covers your lyric projection…for congregational singing.  See a trend?  But wait, there’s more! The CCLI license covers your bands creative music arrangement and recording of worship services onto recordable media like CD’s and DVD’s…in a LIMITED MANNER.

Truth:

Think of the CCLI license as a protective measure which covers certain ways in which you can use the music, NOT in how you can perform or broadcast the music.  The CCLI license is only a step in following proper copyright usage.

Myth #3: We can broadcast our church service under the religious service copyright exception.

Yes, there is a copyright exemption but it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card.  You can broadcast your service, without paying for licensing / royalties AS LONG AS YOU AREN’T BROADCASTING MUSIC THAT WOULD OTHERWISE REQUIRE LICENSING.  Let’s put it this way, if you want the band to play “Where the Streets Have No Name,” by U2, then that’s alright AS LONG AS YOU DON’T AIR IT OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.  And the same goes for most any copyrighted music.

Truth:

Even though technology has brought us to a point where we can think of church services as “always online” or “on the radio every Sunday at 8am,” you must think of a church service as an event which occurs at a location where a congregation is present.  Any other broadcast or re-broadcast requires special performance licensing. This includes podcasts, radio, internet-streaming and any other form of broadcast / rebroadcast.

Important Notes on Church Music Usage

Before jumping into copyright licensing, let’s look at a simple summation of what’s been described so far:

  • Churches do not need a performance license to play / perform copyrighted music in the context of a church service.
  • A “generic” CCLI license is a protective measure which covers certain ways in which you can use the music, it’s not a performance license.
  • Your church likely uses music outside of the service such as on-hold music, Vacation Bible School, dances, graduations, retreats, etc.
  • Broadcasts and re-broadcasts require performance licensing.

All that being said, where do you begin?  First of all, access your licensing needs.  There are a variety of licensing packages available and you want to get exactly what you need.  Do you broadcast/podcast/stream or re-broadcast your services?  Do they include the worship portions?  Does the pastor ever use music in a sermon illustration?  Think man, think!  If music get’s played outside of the church service, you better have the licensing for it.

Using the Right License

There are several types of licensing packages you can purchase, on an annual basis.  Some are more comprehensive than others.  At the end, you’ll find one that is used on a case-by-case basis.  The below packages have been created by Christian Copyright Solutions and Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI). Each package varies in cost. I have listed the costs for a church of under 500 members for easy reference.

1. CCLI Church Copyright License
The Church Copyright License is an agreement with songwriters and publishers. Your church will be authorized to copy songs, from an existing list, for use by / for the congregation.Covers printing lyrics in bulletins, programs, and songsheets for use by the congregation.  Also covers creating songbooks for the congregation. Covers displaying lyrics for the congregation on screens. Covers arranging, printing, and copying new arrangements used for the congregation, where no published version is available.  Covers recording your worship services but NOT accompaniment tracks.  Does allow for charging a limited fee for distribution of recordings (CD, DVD, etc.)Does NOT cover copying instrumental work or song language translation.  Does not allow for renting, selling, or lending copies to groups outside of the church or to other churches.  Just to clarify, per CCLI, “It is OK to distribute recordings to shut-ins, missionaries or others outside the church.”Cost: Under $300 / year for a church of between 200 and 499 people.Find Out More: CCLI Licensing
2. CCLI Streaming and PodCasting License
Allows for legally streaming / podcasting your live-recorded worship service music on your church’s website or other streaming services. All CCLI songs are covered under the “Church Streaming & Podcast License” however, you must purchase the CCLI Church Copyright License as well.This license does NOT cover the streaming of “secular” songs. This would require a webcasting license from the performance rights societies (ASCAP, BMI, SEASAC).Cost: $75 / year or less for churches under 500 (+ cost of CCLI license)Find Out More: CCLI Streaming and PodCasting License
3. CCLI Church Rehearsal License
Allows worship leaders / music directors to copy / share commercial audio recordings via email, flash drives or on worship planning websites like PlanningCenter. Song copies are NOT intended for long term personal use.Cost: $150 / year for churches of 200 and 499 peopleFind Out More: CCLI Church Rehearsal License

This is the end of the CCLI licenses.  They cover a lot but they are limited in the amount of material they cover.  This is when you need to consider a different package…

4. WorshipCast by Christian Copyright Solutions
Streaming license covering more than 16 million songs from the catalogs of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.  This is for when the CCLI license doesn’t cover the songs you use.  CCLI is limited to around 200,000 songs and while that’s a lot, it doesn’t cover the secular side.Webcasts can be live or on-demand and are not limited to worship services.  This license also covers concerts and studio recordings of your worship team.This license does NOT cover downloading of music. Webcasting of master recordings or accompaniment tracks requires additional licensing.Reporting: Usage must be reported if the church’s average weekly attendance is 5,000 or more.Cost: $500 / year for churches under 500 peopleFind Out More: WorshipCast

5. PerformMusic by Christian Copyright Solutions
Remember how I mentioned vacation bible school and “On-hold” music, well this is the place for that.  PerformMusic covers the 16+ million songs from the catalogs of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. This license covers anything outside of the church worship service.The PERFORM music license covers live and pre-recorded music including:

  • Coffee shops
  • Concerts (non-ticketed)
  • Retreats
  • Picnics & barbecues
  • Singles groups
  • Graduations
  • Dance classes
  • Conferences & seminars
  • Vacation Bible School
  • On-hold music

Reporting: This license requires no reporting.

Cost: $280 / year for churches of 200 and 499 people

Find Out More: PerformMusic

6. PermissionsPlus by Christian Copyright Solutions
Consider this the “hire as needed” solution.  PermissionPLus is useful for securing all of the licenses you need for creating / distributing audio disks, videos, digital downloads, podcasts, and even print projects. Per Christian Copyright Solutions, “You can also use PERMISSIONSplus to register your works with the US Copyright office, CCLI, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, as well as order ISRC and UPC codes.”Cost: Paid for with a crediting system.  You buy credits and trade them for the work.Find Out More: PermissionsPlus

The Take Away

Believing the top three church copyright myths can get you into a lot of trouble.  You now know the truth and what you need to do.  If you think, “awww, no one will notice if we don’t get the license,” then I remind you that you are doing Kingdom work.  It’s not the place to cut corners or pretend you don’t need to follow the rules.

*Note this article is based on United States Copyright law.

**This article not available for syndication.

READ THIS NOW! If you still have questions regarding music usage after reading this article, please do NOT leave your question here as I’m not a copyright attorney. Instead, CONTACT Christian Copyright Solutions.

The Next Steps
Your best bet is checking out the Church Copyright Toolkit that covers common questions, outlines the types of licensing solutions, and much more.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Thanks for this article! What makes sense from this article and other’s I’ve read about this is how to copyright the music you play in and around church services, but my question is what streaming/playback services are available to do this? If you have the PerformMusic and WorshipCast licenses, do they have streaming services built into their websites, or do you have to purchase the music through itunes or stream it through spotify?

    Just trying to figure out the best way to stream/play the music once it is covered by the correct copyright services.

  3. Hello,

    Thank you for providing this information to us! It was help and confirmed what I learned from past research.

  4. I hope you can help me. I want to do right by “copyright” and keep hitting a brick wall. My church has a license with One License and CCLI. My question is, do I need permission to copy a song that I have/own a hymnbook of, (Renew, Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship) to sing from instead of carrying the book. We often sing from up in front of the congregation but carrying several different books is awkward and clumsy and we have nowhere to lay them and may drop one holding onto too many. I had one song I was trying to get permission to use/copy for the 10 choir members and have gone through 3 sources and keep getting sent to another or the song isn’t recognized by name or by the composer. It is a simple song, Be Still for the Spirit of the Lord found in this Renew book. Please give me some insight to what I often hear from some choir members who think, “If you have a book you can make as many copies as you have books, if you want/need to” I’m not buying that line and need to know if it is true.
    Thanks

    • This is where I’m not sure…so if you have your own copy of a book you purchased, then yes you can print it off. If you have ten books, a choir of ten, then yes, you can make ten copies. If you own one book, can you make ten copies? I believe CCLI has you covered as long as that song is in their library.

      • Your request (21435) has been updated. To add additional comments, reply to this email.

        Cathy Connelly (ONE LICENSE)
        Jul 10, 3:07 PM CDT
        The comment I shared was that ownership does not imply permission to reprint, it only allows for the performing of the song. There is no “I have 10 copies, I can make 10 copies” right or permission.

  5. The RSE states that it allows for performance AND display of a song without copyright. How can a person “display” it if projecting it is not allowed?

  6. Here’s a situation. What if I want to make my own arrangements of copyrighted songs for an ensemble at my church and I give copies only to them, not to the congregation? The copies of my personal arrangement are not distributed or sold, and the performance is neither broadcasted nor recorded. Do I need special permission to do this? Thanks.

    • If you are creating an arrangement of a copyrighted piece, you need to have the copyright owner’s permission. Sometimes they’ll give it for free, make you pay a fee, or forbid the arrangement. That is their choice.

  7. We were wanting to record a worship service to give to our homebound members. Would this be covered under our regular CCLI?

  8. Hey Chris, just reading this post. Do any of these licenses cover usage of streaming services such as Spotify? Not the content played (music itself) but the actual service/software of Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, etc. Or, would you consider those vendors license agreement stating their service cannot be used in a church setting (commercial) as being the rule of law? Thanks

      • Thank you for this list!

        Spotify does have a “Business” service that they say works for Church venues. It runs about 150% more than the “personal” version, but is designed for the Public arena as opposed to the personal one that Spotify Premium and other similar streaming services operate as. I’m still getting information on it as we want to remain above board!

        • So if I play “birdsong” from YouTube or that I purchased and downloaded to play on Sunday at 10 am worship only It is not copyright infringement?

    • I don’t know about funerals – I’m guessing that’s sort of a personal usage. As for church services, not during the service – UNLESS you live stream or rebroadcast the service. Also, if you have walk-in/walk-out music that plays before our after the service, then you get into paying for these things.

  10. Hello,
    I am creating a music venue that will feature exclusively Christian music. The shows will be similar in nature to a worship service in which song lyrics are projected onto a screen so people can sing along. The venue will not be a church in an official or legal sense. Sometimes we will feature live bands, and sometimes we will play pre-recorded music. Some shows will be free, some will be ticketed (or pay at the door), and patrons will have an option to become a member, granting them entry into all shows. I do not plan to record shows or rebroadcast them. I want to know what licenses I will need. The “PerfomMusic” option looks like the closest to what I need, but it specifically says it’s for non-ticketed concerts. Do I need a different license for ticketed concerts? I thank you for your time. God Bless

    -Nick Logan

  11. Excellent explanation of a rather complex subject. As a public school music teacher I have always heard it is “ok to copy music for each band student or singer as long as the school has purchased one of every part..”

    If this is the case, I wonder how projecting or making a copy of a hymn is any different when a church owns enough hymnals for every person attending the worship service.
    Thanks in advance for the “clarification”!

    • Federal law outlines how religious institutions are free to play / perform during the church service to people who are in immediate attendance. There is a little bit required regarding the CCLI license and display of said lyrics. When it comes to the school, it’s hard to say what’s ok and what’s not on a case by case basis. Some music “packages” for a band are provided where sheet music distribution is expected. If you aren’t sure, then contact the producer of whatever music your about to buy next, and ask.

  12. Hello!
    I am a ministry assistant for a Baptist church. We have started live streaming our sermon and our worship band. We have the appropriate licensing for it but we are unable to stream our church choir because the music comes off of a cd. Do you know where I would turn to find the right license for this issue?

    Thank you!

  13. I post songs on Facebook that members of our church sing as a special for our church service. Is that permitted or do we need a license and if so, what kind and how much? Thanks for your help.

    • If your church members or you write the song, you are ok. However, if you are posting a audio or video recording of your church members singing a song that was written by another, you need a perform license.

  14. I think I understand but I want to validate what I think I read above.
    We have a church of less than 100 people (actually much smaller) and want to play Christian music for worship from an ipod or other apple product. We do not need a license if we play it during the worship section of the service. But if we post the lyrics on the screen for people to sing along, we need the license described under worshipcast. let me know if this is ok.

  15. Many churches use OneLicense.Net available online. This covers the use of copyrighted texts and music from member publishers in bulletins or song sheets, as well as podcasts. Churches with a traditional music program often benefit from this membership. The fees vary with the size of the congregation.

  16. can I stream amazon music in my youth group without a license? (Im guessing thats a no..) can you point me I the direction I need to go to get the proper licensing to stream music through my personal subscription for “worship”.

  17. We’re a small church…less than 100 members. We were thinking about recording the anthem performed by the choir during the worship service and uploading that recording to our church website, along with the Pastor’s sermon. We’re not streaming anything live nor do we podcast anything. We just thought we’d record the music on someone’s iPhone and upload that to our website for members to enjoy again, or for our shut-ins who can’t come to church. Of course, if it was on the website, then it would be available to anyone who visited our site. Which license do you think we’d need? Are there any exemptions if we upload the audio of the song performed and prevented that recording from being downloaded?

      • Chris, thanks for your reply. Can you tell me which license our small church would need? Trying to decipher them all is a bit overwhelming.

  18. Thanks for the article Chris! Very informative. Something I’m not clear on though is that at my church we play music (in the sanctuary) before worship as people are walking into the sanctuary, and after service as people are walking out of the sanctuary. And at altar call, we also play music. Are these okay to play or do we need special lisencing for this? Thanks in advance for your help!

    • Nathan, did you receive an answer to your question about music before and after your service? I have the same question. My church wants to play music before and after and we have a CCLI license but we don’t believe this is covered. But we are also not sure the “in the service ” counts before and after the service.

        • David, pre-service and post-service music is just that, music that’s not part of the service. Too many times I see people say they just use an iTunes playlist or some curated Spotify playlist, or anything else that’s not allowed for non-personal use. That’s why the PERFORMMusic license from CCS exists. The religious exemption is for during the service, but that nice music we play before and after isn’t included.

  19. We are a small congregation and use music only in our church service. Recordings we send out only have sermon on them. We seem to qualify as not needing a license per your article. What I would like to know is what is the one exception that you mentioned.

    • That’s correct. Music used only during the service and NOT recorded for broadcast is covered under the Religious Service Exemption. The minute you record the music and send it out to other people or stream it live on the internet, tv, or radio, then you have to deal with licensing. Also, if you have a vacation bible school or camp, then you have to pay for licensing for those as well.

  20. Question:

    I was at a retreat at a camp (a group rented the facility) and they played worship videos off of youtube (lyric videos) for the worship time. I have a feeling this is alllll kinds of wrong.

    Would they need a CVL licence from CCLI? And WHO is the one who needs to have this? The group renting the facility? or the facility (camp) itself? Both are financially benefiting (we pay to attend, and the group rents the facility)

    Advice?

  21. I pastor a small Baptist Church. For years the choir has used photo-copies of songs to sing. I am discovering that these copies are not legal. We have been doing the wrong thing for a number of years. Am I correct that we need to destroy the photo copies and purchase books for each member of the choir?

    • Yes. If you look at the cover or the front of the choir music, it will say somewhere towards the bottom that you cannot photocopy the music. I was part of a college choir for many years and each of the choir members had original choir music for that reason. I’m part of a small church as well and have purchased original choir music for each choir member. The copies will need to be destroyed or recycled.

    • It’s best to get a CCLI copyright license and Song Select license. That covers you for the covered songs in their list. Many older hymns are covered under public domain and don’t require a license so it depends on what those selections are that your choir sings. With the above mentioned licenses through CCLI you are covered for using during your services, you can then print off music for your choir. It’s not too expensive for a small church.

  22. What licensing would I need to change a few words in a song? It is not going to be recorded but sung by a ladies group in church.

  23. Hello,
    I will be teaching a class in my home and possibly at various churches. I would like to play five or six Christian songs throughout the “conference”. I may or may not be putting the words to the song up on the screen. I prefer not to put them up, but if I do, would that change my licensing options? What is the best licensing for this event?
    Thank you.

  24. We are going to be using Christian artists songs from cd for our services. We will not be recording the services, but will be be liable if someone videos the service with an iphone and posts it online without our knowledge

    • I suggest you add some legal protection by posting signage throughout your campus, particularly at entrances, prohibiting the use of any recording device to capture and transmit any aspects of your service.

      You should also have a conversation with your insurance company to discuss any legal risks. They should be able to address the liability issue.

  25. Hey Chris,

    Thanks so much for this article.

    I’m looking into appropriate licenses for my church now and I have a question. We already have a CCLI lyric license but now am looking into both performance and streaming licenses.

    If I go with CSS do I also need to get the CCLI performance and streaming licenses? Is there any song/artist etc… that CCLI covers that CSS does not?

    • You’d need to contact each. I was just talking with Paul from CCLI a few months ago and it sounds like they are introducing comparative services.
      Chris

      • I did end up contacting them, and while CCLI is offering comparative services for Christian music and for a whole lot cheaper, our Pastor does like using some secular examples in sermons and such. Guess the best option for my church is CCS.

        Thanks again for the article.

  26. I am looking at wanting to post like the top 25 Christian artists songs on our website for people to listen to while they are looking at information on our website what type of licensing do we need. We already own a couple different ccli license types but just wanted to find out if that would cover us or if we need more. I don’t want us to get into any legal trouble just for music on our website. Thanks.

    • You can’t do that with a ccli license. The standard ccli license permits you to do very little. Honestly, as someone who use to work in church web site development, reader’s don’t want to listen to music when they hit a site, they want to skim around and find the information they desire and then take action or move on.

      • I echo what Chris said the last thing a visitor wants to hear when visiting the website is music upon arrival. You want to get the information and get out. The best way to go is put the most important information up front and make quick and easy to find.

  27. If my church is doing a funeral service and the family brings in a DVD or video file with copyrighted music, will we be liable if we play it at the church? I know that Funeral Homes are not allowed to do that, so my understanding would be that a church cannot either.

    • Honestly, I’ve seen it happen often enough, even at funeral homes that I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think someone is going to go after you for that. I don’t think music companies are completely heartless.

  28. We have a small praise group (10-20) at church that gathers on a week night at church in a chapel to sing and pray, not the whole congregation. Would this still be considered a worship service? If we have purchased song books for everyone attending, do we still need a license for a guitar player to lead the music?

  29. I’m totally lost. We have a CCLI license at our church to cover in-house. But we are also on live television every Sunday. CCLI says they have nothing to cover that (I guess their Stream license does not extend to that) … but we don’t use secular songs in our worship services so i am not sure that Christian Copyright Solutions has anything as far as coverage. Can you give me some help please?

  30. Hi. Thanks for your insight on this often vague and ever changing topic. You alluded to a music bed over a video, but I didn’t get a clear answer. If we are making a video about the history of our church and we want to use, let’s say, a Chris Tomlin song underneath, is that okay? What special licensing would we need if we wanted to put that on our website? Thanks!

  31. We are a small church that runs about 100 on a Sunday morning. For years, long before I got here, we have recorded the entire service on a DVD to pass out to 7 or 8 ladies who are shut-ins. They are the only ones who receive a DVD. Can we continue to do this without any type of licensing?

  32. Is putting up our church service on youtube a violation of copyright? The pastor sometimes uses music clips in his sermons and we would also like to start putting up the music portion of the service on youtube.

  33. Do I need a license to use a worship song in a video? Or is is it enough to give credit to the artist?

  34. Hi! We are recording on video testimonies by different church members. We’d like to put an instrumental track as background audio (which will help hide some background noise). Will we need a license to use instrumental tracks or any tracks for videos that we will use on our website, facebook page, church services? Thanks. God bless.

  35. Thanks for your article. It is really important for people to understand copyright laws when it comes to music. Music is often an essential part of worship or special events in many Christian churches. As you mentioned, being a church does not exempt you from copyright laws. If you enjoy special arrangements or new music, it can be important to make sure that you support the musicians and publishers that enable sheet music and new music. Keep this in mind to make sure that you are fair to people’s hard work and efforts.

  36. Hey Chris – Appreciate the article. Very helpful info. I’m a leader of a worship band and we’re thinking of producing some digital content for YouTube, facebook, etc. Specifically, we’re thinking of recording some worship cover songs live in a home and putting it on YouTube. Suggestions on what we would need to do this? I want to make sure we’re covered. Would the best bet be “PerformMusic” by CCS?

      • I tried contacting Christian Copyright Solutions through their webpage and received no response. Bummer. This was a couple months back.

  38. My church is interested in playing contemporary Christian music. We don’t have a any musicians to play that kind of music. I had a thought if you put the lyrics on a screen or something of that sort if you need a license as far as infringement rights are concern. This is for church worship only.

  39. Your website is really great. Our church subscribes to multiple CCLI licenses to try and cover all the bases. We capture weekly worship services and make the videos available through multiple media (CD,DVD, Internet, and a couple of public access tv channels) my question is this: Are we prohibited from video/audio recording pre-recorded music that is part of the worship service ie; accompaniment CDs and pre-recorded music that is part of in-house created videos displayed in the worship service.

  40. website [link removed for questionable content] has a lot of stuff saying that churches do not need a license of any kind for their worship service and specifically CCLI or any other type. They give a lot of info but am not sure how or even if it is valid. What do you say about this site and the requirements of the church?

    • They are wrong plain and simple. Churches are not exempt from copyright law just because they are a non-profit entity. That’s a myth that’s been around for a long time.

  41. My church of 50-75 members is creating a church website and want to use the intro (less than a minute), of gospel songs when someone logs on to the website, what license is required?

    • As a former web designer and one who still stays up on web trends and site usability, I beg you not to put instant-play music on your web site. It’s shown that people will leave the as soon as it starts – unless they are visiting the web site of a musician.

  42. Great article! I serve as the “gatekeeper” of copyright compliance at my church (lonely mission!!!) and I have been asked to research who is responsible for license(s) to stream a wedding at our church. The church is not using its equipment; the vendor will provide his own URL portal, but it will be transmitted from our church. The wedding party is paying a rental fee to use our sanctuary. Is the church liable or the videographer/vendor?

    • Jackie, contact the company listed in this article. My guess is it’s best to have them sign a one-page contract stating they (wedding party or videographer) is responsible for ensuring all transmissions are in accordance with copyright and they hold harmless the church.

      • Thanks for your advice. I have contacted CCLI and CCS (we are members of both) for their suggestions as well.

  43. We would like to make a slide show of our pictures and play a recorded song behind the slide show…is this legal? What license do we need to get? So frustrated looking for an answer to a question that I can’t seem to find anyone asking. Thanks for any help!

  44. My church is having an event in Feb,as a party favor they want to give a cd of 4 songs, When God Made You by New Song and Natalie Grant
    Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice
    The Marriage Prayer by John Waller
    God’s Love Song by Jeannie Deal
    Could you advise on what license would be needed,many thanks.

  45. We have prayer every Saturday morning for one hour. This consists of people logging on to go to webinar and it is streamed only to people that log on. We are wanting to play worship music via iTunes radio before/after prayer just to set the mood. Which copyright license is needed to do this legally?

  46. I’m guessing I need to take this down, but was told by church leadership to wait until we knew for sure what CCLI allows– I recorded the entire Good Friday service and had it posted on the church website. Usually we just post sermons. What would we need to post entire services, including music, online?

  47. question-do you have to have a license to play or sing hymns such as hilltops of glory or a mighty fortress outside of the church? these have been sung in the church for decades if not centuries–aren’t they considered public domain? if not-how do I find out who “owns” them?

      • [quote]Public domain is anything before 1955. [/quote]

        Uh, no.

        US Public Domain is anything published prior to 1923, unless first published in the US between 1923 and 1977 without a copyright notice, or published between 1978-1989 without notice and subsequent registration within 5 years of publication. Otherwise, the copyright remains in force for 70 years after the death of the author (95 years from publication or 120 years from creation for corporate authorship).

        For works published abroad before 1978, the copyright term is 95 years after publication date.

  48. Thanks for the post Chris. This is one of those things that I have always wondered about but I was always told that we pay the fees its covered. Now I have to go investigate whet we have and make sure that it is right.

  49. Thanks Chris! I broadcast our sunday service online and in between services I play a mix of the recorded choir songs and a few tracks from some gospel artists. I know of the copyright infringement and that’s why I never put them on a cd, instead just play them. I didn’t know I needed a CCLI to play for general purposes.

  50. This may have changed since I dealt with it a deacde or so ago, but I spoke with CCLI about including snippets of movie clips in the computer software (we used PowerPoint at the time) which creates the projected lyrics and sermon notes. I was told it was forbidden to include snippets, as that was considered editing. The only way to do this and still comply with copyright was to show the movie directly from the original media. We had great fun trying to cue the DVD and keep it paused for long periods of time!

  51. Its great to see you write an article on this. Its something that a lot of us see on forums now-a-days….
    Can I recommend that you make a post on the video licensing side of things? As many Churches are doing video related thing, I think it would be very important for people to realize that playing clips during a service, or watching Veggie Tales during Sunday school, or watching a movie for youth night, all require the video licensing as well. This is something that most Churches forget or say “well we only do a movie night 2-3 times a year…” (thats what I heard recently, but I’m still looking into it deeper)…still requires the license….

    Thanks again Chris for great and helpful post!

  52. SO basically what you’re telling me, is if I take my guitar out to our church’s men’s retreat because the pastor asked me to lead us in an informal worship time, we would need to purchase a license for that? Good to know….

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    […] Huff at Behind The Mixer has posted an article called Your Guide to Churches, Music, and COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT! that addresses these topics. What I like about his post is that instead of laying out the rules, he […]