Summer’s Coming and Music Licensing Is Easy with PERFORMmusic License

April 20, 2015

As a church leader, you’re probably catching your breath, while still savoring your church’s glorious and joyous Easter programs! Now all thoughts turn to upcoming church summer programs…VBS, camps and special events. Music is a vital part of summer church and camp activities, but Music performance rights are often overlooked during summer events. CCS’s PERFORMmusic License makes it EASY and simple to get IMMEDIATE comprehensive legal coverage of more than 17 million songs.

ONLY ONE-STOP PERFORMANCE LICENSE

CCS has partnered with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (the U.S. performance rights organizations) to create the ONLY one-stop performance license for churches and non-profit ministries. It’s a SIMPLE and inexpensive way to make sure you avoid copyright infringement, so you can play and perform pretty much any song you’d like…Christian and secular. Great news! If your church already has a PERFORMmusic License, or obtains one, then your VBS and camp programs are covered, if they are under your church umbrella. You pay one annual fee and you’re covered for the entire year of activities, and there’s no reporting required!

U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW

The U.S. Copyright Laws grants copyright owners six exclusive rights, one of which is the right to publicly play or perform music. It’s a fairly simple concept, but one that churches often misunderstand. No other church license covers performance rights, so the PERFORMmusic License is necessary, and allows you to freely play or perform any music…you can let your creativity flow and not worry about infringement risks!

Download our FREE Fact Sheet for definitions of public performance rights to help lay the groundwork for understanding requirements for proper licensing.

RELIGIOUS SERVICE EXEMPTION

Churches qualify for an important exemption in the U.S. Copyright Law (section 110[3]), but it is vital that church leaders understand which performances qualify for the exemption and which do not. According to the exemption, the following performances are not infringements of copyright:

“Performance of a nondramatic music work or of a dramatico-music work of a religious nature, or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly.”

It is vital to note that this exemption specifically applies to performances that take place during a worship service at a place of worship, it DOES NOT exempt churches or camps from the requirement for performance licensing outside of services.

If you have any questions about copyright compliance requirements for your Summer programs and activities, please call and talk to a CCS Rep at 855-576-5837 to discuss your specific licensing needs.

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, as well as representation, administration and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

Categorized in: Blog