On the First Day of Christmas, CCS Gave to Me…

December 1, 2021

The Benefits of a Church Performance Licence

Do you know how the 12 days of Christmas came to be? Historically Christians celebrated 12 days surrounding Christmas. The period starts with Christmas on December 25th and ends with the Epiphany on January 6th. Christians believe that the 12 days of Christmas mark the amount of time it took after the birth of Jesus for the magi, or wise men, to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany when they recognized him as the son of God. And the song? It likely started as a memory game for kids! 

Now we know the “Twelve Days of Christmas” doesn’t begin on December 1st, but in anticipation of Christmas, we’re counting down with twelve ways your church can prepare along the way – from Christmas carols to music licensing and songs and scriptures to practical solutions, we hope you find some ideas you can implement! 

One of the first steps your church should take to ensure copyright compliance is securing performance licensing. On the first day of Christmas, we’re here to explain.  

Performance licensing is required for churches playing or performing copyrighted music in routine ministry activities, as well as special events.   

Except for the Religious Service Exemption, the legal requirements for the use of copyrighted materials by religious organizations are pretty much the same as any business. So, a Christmas program that isn’t part of the church’s religious service is NOT exempt and will require performance licensing. Plus, the Religious Service Exemption does NOT apply to online streaming of your service.   

The easiest and most affordable solution is CCS’s PERFORMmusic Facilities License. This gives your church tremendous freedom to play and perform more than 28 million songs, including popular Christmas carols, hymns, and secular music, anywhere in your facilities or satellite and offsite locations. It allows your church to engage in a wide variety of music performances beyond your religious services including: 

Traditional Christmas Programs 

Christmas Caroling 

Drive-through Nativities 

Children’s Programs 

Handbell Performances 

Christmas Concerts 

Synchronized Light Shows 

Music before and after services 

And more! 

Your church may also want to feature your Christmas productions on your website. To legally stream copyrighted music online, a digital streaming performance license is required.   

When you stream from your church website with a WORSHIPcast Streaming License, you have access to the same 28 million songs and can legally stream your activities that include copyrighted music. Not just your service, you can stream all the above activities covered under your PERFORMmusic license.  

So PERFORMmusic and WORSHIPcast are better together! When you purchase both licenses, your church has tremendous freedom to utilize music in all your Christmas church activities AND receive a 10% discount off your first year when you bundle the licenses together. 

At CCS, we understand that licensing can be confusing, so we do our best to make it simple. If you have any questions, simply e-mail us or give us a call at 877-394-5566.

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches. Follow us onTwitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.  

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Categorized in: , , ,