Copyrights and Licensing Update for Church Musicians Mark W. Lawson, MorningStar Music Publishers How did we get here? • Important factors o U.S. Copyright Law gives the creator the basic right to control their creation. ▪ First recording ▪ Print and sell ▪ Collect money from performances • VIP – Live, in person church services were exempt from performance licenses, not exempt from other licenses o Creators may assign their copyrights to a publisher, or act on their own behalf o Copyright law hasn’t changed, but licensing has changed a great deal. o Important to realize that the changes we are seeing now are going to be permanent, not temporary. Many churches will continue to stream services after the pandemic. Many people will use zoom to connect long after the pandemic. • The common practice of churches up until the advent of contemporary hymnody, and the use of Contemporary Christian Music was to sing from the hymnal. Primarily public domain music. o Projection, printing of new hymns in the order of worship led to the formation of CCLI o CCLI was not a good fit for many traditional or liturgical publishers, which led to the formation of One License. o It is important to understand which companies are a part of each organization. ▪ Q: Why might I need to belong to both? A question of worship style. ▪ Some companies not in CCLI: Augsburg; Concordia; GIA; OCP; Church Publications; Oxford ▪ Companies not in OneLicense: many of the CCM companies o Primarily formed to provide easy print licensing o The advent of the Internet, Youtube, streaming, has moved the Church Musician into the bigger world of music licensing. • Important terms: o Five main kinds of licensing ▪ Print ▪ Audio recording – mechanical ▪ Video – synchronization (sync) ▪ Performance • Streaming (live) • Podcasting (miss-use of term) • Interactive/Non-Interactive Streaming and Podcasting ▪ Grand Rights (most Church Musicians won’t have to deal with this, but worth mentioning) – dramatic presentations o Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) ▪ ASCAP, BMI, SESAC (government control) • Streaming/Podcasting licenses – Worship services o CCLI & One License – added streaming licenses to help Church musicians abide by the law when it comes to obtaining the sync and performance licenses for worship services ▪ Compare it to Netflix/Prime/Disney Plus ▪ For OneLicense – must report all copyrighted music used – prelude, offertory, etc.. • Q: Why are the organ/piano pieces not on the OneLicense website? • Q: What do I do if the piece is not on the website? • Q: Why do I have to report for OneLicense, but not CCLI? o Importance of reporting ▪ Keep it organized • Create a spreadsheet of music used • Decide on who is reporting and how often o Considerations – Musicians may need to limit their choices to the companies/compositions that are in their license. This is a common practice among media companies who are used to this kind of licensing. o Special event licenses • Sync licenses o Posting videos on Youtube, Facebook, etc. ▪ ASCAP/BMI – might cover the performance license ▪ Still need a sync license • No central licensing agency for this….must contact the publisher. Some have statements on their websites. Costs vary • Why does this seem to be a topic now, and not so much “pre- pandemic?” • Limiting length of time/often has a term ▪ Difference between posting on social media and youtube, and on church websites. ▪ Takedown notices/alerts • Mechanical Licensing (set fee by congress) o Primarily for making of commercial recordings o Rehearsal tracks – needs a secure environment ▪ Will need additional permission if used in performance o Podcasting o Harry Fox Agency o Music Modernization Act – Music Licensing Collective being formed • Grand Rights o What is it? Why would I ever need it? • Common questions and issues: o Are there any group licenses which cover organ and piano prelude pieces/solos? I have found a few on onelicense, but none for which I had music. I used compositions from a local publisher for awhile, but have now just not been including the prelude in our livestream. o I want to send a pdf to my choir members for zoom rehearsals. o Linking recordings for choir members o Creating rehearsal tracks o Contacting companies and individuals about licenses, and permissions ▪ Out of Print music ▪ Deceased composers o Arranging music ▪ Copyrighted music ▪ Public domain music • Don’t arrange and arrangement • Compliance considerations o Trust business o Important to realize that business models are shifting and that creators have to be paid, or we won’t have creators – Publishers have to uphold contractual obligations with composer/music creators o Energy is being directed toward education and compliance. • You will be the “copyright expert” for your church, and you will likely be challenged by others. o Collect educational information to share with colleagues and church members. • Things to watch and consider: o My Choral Coach: https://matchmysound.com/my-choral-coach o Choral Tracks - https://choraltracks.com/en o Information on progress on latency issues and • Helpful links: o https://www.barbershop.org/live-streaming-your-show-a-guided-copyright-checklist o https://mola-inc.org/p/kendricks-streaming-of-music-us o https://www.easysonglicensing.com/ o https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-how-can-we-livestream-worship-legally o https://www.easysonglicensing.com/pages/help/articles/music-licensing/what-is-a- synchronization-license.aspx .