Last Updated: July 27, 2021
Permission level: Staff
Licenses Shiloh Owns
CCLI’s Copyright License
CCLI’s add-on license for Streaming and Podcasting
CCS PERFORMmusic
CVLI License by CCLI
Provides legal coverage for the public performance of thousands of inspiring movies.
IS A CCLI LICENSE ALL MY CHURCH NEEDS TO BE COPYRIGHT COMPLIANT?
Retrieved on 8/7/19 from https://www.renewingworshipnc.org/copyright-licenses/
Unfortunately, there is not a single license that covers all of a church’s copyright compliance needs. The good news is that there are several blanket licenses that simplify the process of obtaining copyright coverage, so that a church does not have to go to each individual copyright owner for permission.
A blanket license allows licensees to use a catalog of copyrighted works for specified activities for one annual fee. Several blanket licenses have been created to meet the need of churches and ministries. The best known of these are:
- CCLI church copyright license
- CCLI church streaming and podcast license
- CCLI rehearsal copy license
- CopyrightSolver’s PERFORMmusic
- CopyrightSolver’s WORSHIPcast
- CVLI
- LicenseSing
- LifeWay Worship Track Streaming License
- OneLicense
These licenses provide a mosaic of licensing, with very little overlap between their coverage. The first step in determining which of these licenses to purchase is understanding what they cover and what they do not cover.
Each blanket license provides coverage for specific types of copyrights (music, video, etc.) and specific rights (performance, reproduction, adaptation) for a specific catalog of works and period of time. So you need to look at four elements of your license(s):
- Type of copyright; is it music, sound recording or audiovisual (films)?
- The catalog of copyrights; e.g. is it a specific group of song publishers or film producers?
- The types of rights covered; e.g., is it performance, reproduction, derivative?
- The specific activities authorized; e.g., is it for congregational singing use only, on-site performances or internet streaming?
Churches should analyze how they’re using copyrighted material and put together the mosaic of available licenses that provides the most comprehensive coverage. Otherwise, they may find that they are compliant in one area, but leaving themselves wide open to a lawsuit in other areas.
There are eight works of authorship that can be copyrighted:
- music
- sound recordings
- literary works
- audiovisual
- visual images
- dance
- dramas
- architecture.
US Copyright law gives copyright owners six exclusive rights. These include the rights to:
- Reproduce
- Make Derivative Works
- Distribute
- Perform
- Publicly Display
- Perform Digital Sound Recordings
If you use copyrighted materials in any of these ways, in most cases, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The CCLI license only addresses the rights to reproduce and distribute, in most cases print reproduction music for congregational singing and, to a very limited extent, some rights to audio reproduction and making derivative works under very special circumstances (to see more on what is covered by the CCLI license, click here) . It covers 200,000 Christian songs.
The CCLI License is a wonderful license for most churches to have because it does allow you to make copies of music and lyrics for congregational singing with some limited CD and DVD recording rights. However, the CCLI License does NOT authorize you to:
- Make photocopies of non-congregational music or other disallowed music by the CCLI license [sounds like this includes rehearsal documentation]
- Perform or play songs outside of a worship service
- Post any songs to the internet [including video, audio, live streaming, & podcasts]
- Use any type of copyright besides music
- Use songs that are not in the CCLI song catalog [meaning songs manually imported to PCO are not covered]
- Do anything else that’s not explicitly covered in their terms of service.
The licenses offered by CopyrightSolver were developed to cover activities where churches still need additional coverage.
One important use of copyrights that is NOT covered by CCLI’s license is performance rights. Almost every church needs performance licensing. If your church performs music at all outside of worship services—any activities ranging from youth events singing before a potluck to your phone system’s music on-hold. To be legally compliant, your church should have performance licensing. CopyrightSolver’s PERFORMmusic License covers over 16 million songs in the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC catalogs for one year and requires no reporting.
If your church streams your worship services online, you’ll need a streaming license to cover any copyrighted songs that are included in the stream. CopyrightSolver’s WORSHIPcast License covers over 16 million songs in the ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC catalogs for one year and requires no reporting for churches with less than 5,000 members.