The composition, arranging and recording of music is considered intellectual property. This property is protected by copyright law. We respect this by:
- Using purchased music for choirs and instrumentalists. Purchasing music provides income for the composers and arrangers, without whom we would have no music to perform.
- Obtaining permission from performers prior to video taping or recording.
- Obtaining license from copyright holder before distributing or broadcasting videos or audio recordings and abiding by general practices of the music industry regarding performance royalties
Copyright practices are subject to change. Further information is available at the following:
- UUA Worship Web "Copyright Primer for Congregations" - https://www.uua.org/publications/copyright-primer-for-congregations
- "Guide to Copyright Information" published by the Church Music Publishers Association - http://cmpamusic.org/copyrights/
- "Copyright and The Church", published by the United Church of Christ"
As a congregational musician, you may also be interested in music as a "producer." This includes activities such as posting audio or video recordings of your choir on a website, or making arrangements of copyrighted music. For copyright information about making arrangements and recordings, four helpful websites are:
- The Harry Fox Agency pages on licensing and copyright - https://www.harryfox.com/#/faq
- Broadcast Music Incorporated - http://www.bmi.com/licensing/
- The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers - http://www.ascap.com/licensing/
- Church Copyright License - https://us.ccli.com/
This last is very helpful if you plan on streaming, pod casting, or posting music to a website. Generally speaking, issues around production are more complex than those regarding the use of music in worship services.