Only 51 Days ‘Til Christmas and Holiday Favorites

November 4, 2015

Yes, it’s that time of year when we all flinch at the first sighting of “ONLY 51 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS” signs. November always ushers in a cornucopia of church holiday programs–from harvest activities to Thanksgiving events to Advent and Christmas.  It’s a wonderful time for church leaders and worship directors to invite their communities to join in celebrating this special season. And programs are greatly enhanced by special music presentations, especially holiday favorites.

As you review your production checklists, the easiest way to make sure your music clearances are covered is by utilizing blanket licenses. There are several licenses that can simplify the process of copyright compliance, and you’ll want to make sure that the license catalogs cover the music you want to use.

CCS’s blanket licenses, PERFORMmusic and WORSHIPcast, cover more than 20 million songs that include popular holiday songs like “White Christmas,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Thank You for the Music” by Abba, “Kind and Generous,” and “What a Wonderful World.” CCS partners with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (U.S. performance rights organizations) to provide special one-stop blanket licenses for churches and non-profit ministries to perform and play music in their facilities and through internet streaming.

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive at  CCS is:

HOW IS CCS DIFFERENT FROM CCLI?

CCS and CCLI both provide blanket music copyright licensing for churches and ministries.  However, each company specializes in a different area of copyright needs.  CCS specializes in the area of Performance rights.  CCLI specializes in the area of Reproduction or duplication rights.   A good analogy is Insurance.  CCS and CCLI are both insurance companies, but one specializes in auto insurance and the other in home insurance.  You probably need both, but they are different and not one company can provide all the coverage you may need.   CCS’s PERFORMmusic License is the only one-stop performance license for music played or performed in church facilities, with annual fees start as low as $299. Both CCS’s WORSHIPcast License and CCLI’s streaming license provide internet rights for streaming music online.

DO YOU COVER THE SAME SONGS AS CCLI?

Yes, CCS’s WORSHIPcast and PERFORMmusic Licenses include all of the 300,000+ songs in CCLI’s catalog, plus an additional 18.7 million tunes from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

CATALOG

An important area to evaluate is the catalogs covered by the respective licenses. CCLI’s streaming catalog is based on their catalog of more than 300,000 Christian songs.  The WORSHIPcast license covers more than 20 million songs from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC and represents Christian and secular songs from all genres.

What is the impact of the catalog size? Well, if the song that you want to use is not in the catalog, you can’t stream it without getting additional licensing from the song’s owner. Getting this additional permission can take weeks and would cost additional money. Scrimping on catalog size will save some money upfront, but it will also limit what songs you can include in your webcast or require you to spend additional time and money to use songs that are not in the catalog. This can become an important issue when performing holiday, pop or special music outside of Christian song catalogs.

Annual church blanket licenses make it so much easier, simpler and more affordable than trying to obtain permissions from individual song owners. Hopefully this analysis will help you make an informed decision on which license best covers your church’s needs for holiday programs. If you have questions or would like more information, call 1-855-SOLVER (576-5837) or you chat live with a CopyrightSolvers by clicking on the bottom right hand corner of our CCS website.

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.

 

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