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SONG LICENSING
Your church needs to
buy a blanket song license to have the legal right to use songs in your
services (and so the
composers receive their royalties). This inexpensive license covers printing words to songs,
recording this music during
your Sunday services, PowerPoint projection, and
more.
The fee is based on the size of your average
attendance (combined attendance if more than 1 service.)
- The federal copyright law
requires you to first get permission from the song owner before you can copy
any song words or music. Since it's not practical to do this individually
for every song and every composer, you can buy a "blanket license"
to allow you to make copies of the
songs listed by that licensor.
- "Copy" means any
duplication of song words or music…such as printing the lyrics in the bulletin
or on song sheets, storing lyrics in a computer to project on a screen (PowerPoint), photocopying from a hymnal, or
recording music during your service
(including the choir, special music, and offertories.) The license also covers making
customized arrangements
for congregational use when no published version is available.
- Songs are to be copied for the purpose of assisting in congregational
worship, not for other purposes.
- The license does not cover photocopies of
choir music or arrangement music - you are supposed to buy enough copies for the
whole choir!
- You can not share or distribute copies
with other churches or ministries; this license is intended for your own church
needs.
Blanket Song licenses are available from:
- emPower Music Rights - www.empowerma.com
- New Thought song licensing... includes artists such as: Karen
Taylor-Good, Jana Stanfield, Lytingale, David Roth, Richard Mekdeci, Karen Drucker,
David Ault, Sue Kroupa Riley, Armand, Coco Ramos... and many more. Unity composers
are joining every day! Fees from $100/year, based on size. Average
attendance of 100-199 = $150/yr.
- Church Copyright License: www.ccli.com -
covers 200,000 mainstream, religious worship songs. Fees from
$50/year, based on size. Average attendance of 100-199 = $175/yr.
Once you
are a member, you will fill out a simple form online each month, listing what
songs have been used that month. This only takes a few minutes, and it
ensures that you are in compliance with copyright laws and gives songwriters
the compensation they are due for their intellectual property.
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