Church Blanket Licenses Fact Sheet

March 8, 2016

One of the beauties of BLANKET MUSIC LICENSES is the simplicity, flexibility and many ways that they can be used throughout church programs and activities. There are multiple copyright blanket licenses designed to simplify legal copyright use for churches and ministries. The term “blanket license” is used to indicate that copyright owners have granted permission to use their catalogs of copyrighted works in situations where issuing individual licenses would be cumbersome and impractical. We have a great Fact Sheet resource that explains the many church blanket licenses available.

In the mid-1980’s when I worked at Integrity Media, I used to get phone calls from pastors and worship assistants who would say, “I was at the copier machine making copies of sheet music, when the Holy Spirit convicted me and told me I was stealing someone’s music. What do I need to do get permission and the proper licensing?”

Unfortunately, at that time I had to tell church leaders that they would have to research and find each individual song owner, submit a license request (by fax or snail mail) and often wait weeks or months before they would get instructions, pay a royalty fee and receive a license.

Today, there are multiple copyright blanket licenses designed to simplify legal copyright use for churches and ministries. When you read our Fact Sheet, you will learn how to create a mosaic of blanket licenses to easily and immediately cover the majority of copyright use in your activities. You will understand how to analyze each blanket license, identify what copyright types and catalogs are covered and what exclusive rights are authorized in each license.

Susan Fontaine Godwin is CCS’s founder/CVO, an educator and long-time member of the Christian arts community with 30 years of experience in the Christian media industry, church copyright administration and copyright management. Susan is an author and speaker and frequently writes for several Christian magazines and online publications. She serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Mobile.

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 Youtube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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