From time to time you will notice in the Sunday bulletin mysterious small print under a piece of music or lyrics. This small print tells you that I am complying with the requirements of LicenSing - Copyright Cleared Music for Churches, one of several organizations which acquires certain rights from partnering publishing houses and composers (copyright holders) for music compositions, and then grants to subscribing churches, for one annual fee, the right to reproduce words and/or music for congregational use from all of the copyright holders. The North American Edition Directory of LicenSing Copyright Holders includes more than 340 publishers, individual composers, music companies, and various presses in USA and Canada. Without this service, it would be a monumental task to contact individual publishers and composers every time I wanted to use a particular piece of copyrighted work.
After making a thorough study of which publishing houses and composers each of the licensing organizations covers, I chose to have our church subscribe to LicenSing rather than other licensors (CCLI and One License) which cater more to music for liturgical churches. Membership fee is based on our average weekly church attendance and ours for 2007 will be $150. How does LicenSing know which music selections have been used at Kirkland Congregational Church? My periodic reports sent to LicenSing direct royalties to the appropriate copyright holder, a system which guarantees that composers and text writers will be compensated on an actual-use basis, rather than a mere sampling.
Copyright law is complicated but exists to protect intellectual property and foster
financial incentive to publish and distribute creative works. It follows that art
flourishes in countries with strong copyright laws, and we, the public, are the
beneficiaries. Furthermore, as a church we cannot ignore the moral responsibility
that accompanies copyright laws.
Ele Nash
Music Director