Music
Music is subject to copyright, and licensing on its use therefore applies. This is the case for a significant proportion of Church music. “But how can Bach’s music be subject to copyright when he’s been dead for over 250 years?” is a commonly heard query. The issue is not a composer’s original music, but subsequent recording of such music by an artist. Without copyright, the artist will not receive royalties for his/her work; and many people, including those who work in and for our churches, depend on such income.
There is some music available online that has been made available publicly under what is called Creative Commons licence. This means that material has been shared by the originator, to allow it to be used. With over 1.6 billion online products shared by originators for public use under Creative Commons, they are an abundant source. In such a case, terms of proper attribution of sources will apply, so do check the terms of the licence.
Then there is the question that follows, given the use of online platforms like Zoom, Facebook and YouTube: What music can I stream during online services?
To address this, and for online Church purposes, the Diocese suggests that chaplaincies check whether it is possible to obtain and purchase a licence from Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI). CCLI offer agreements internationally that cover the use of copyrighted music, and we’re currently in touch with them to request latest information on which countries they cover across Europe.
In addition, CCLI offer the possibility of a streaming add-on. As an alternative, you could try One License. We advise chaplaincies, wherever possible to:
- Purchase a CCLI licence; and
- for online church (the cost depends on the size of your congregation and your requirements), purchase the streaming add-on.
This is because by purchasing a licensing agreement, you should be able to access a full range of online church resources made available by the national church via the A Church Near You Resource Hub. You can register for an account to access these resources.
The Church of England, working with St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Royal School of Church Music, is providing a resource of rights-free music for use on streamed services, which is accessible to chaplaincies in the Diocese in Europe. The Church of England Digital Communications team advise on this part of their site:
- Churches who wish to use this music as part of services via YouTube, Facebook, Zoom or other platforms must hold a CCLI Licence and add the streaming option to it. Read more here on how to do this and purchase that license on the CCLI website.
- This music is not covered under One License (it is covered by CCLI because it’s the more widely owned licence by CofE churches)
- The licensing agreement governs the repertoire of music that the Church of England uses. All music has been recorded carefully following all UK Government guidelines for social distancing.
On the ACNY hub, you will find over 70 tracks are available to download for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany including a selection of 10 traditional Christmas Carols:
A Church Near You Music Assets
Information on the CofE licensing arrangements
Free music downloads for weddings and funerals
Copyright guides
This is the Church of England’s guide to copyright
Overall, we advise the precautionary principle in your use of music to stream during services. This means it is worth including the source of the music in your online order of service. A simple option would be to indicate (if it is the case):
- That your church has a current CCLI licence in place covering all music streamed, and that
- Music has been downloaded from ACNY Resource Hub for Church of England churches, which requires churches to have such a license to be in place to use these resources
As regards YouTube and Facebook, as well as Zoom platforms, we would advise you to ensure that the music you stream is covered by a copyright licence you hold prior to the service or other public event in order to avoid the possibility of infringement.
Using music as a soundtrack on videos
It's not easy to find free music, but if you have a Canva Pro account for instance, there is some. Make sure you have a licence to use whatever you choose. Many channels such as You Tube will automatically check for any copyrighted music so you do need to be careful. Also remember to add an attribution to the creator whenever asked to. The following are great places to explore, some will ask for a subscription or pay per track, so it's worth finding somewhere that suits your budget and the type of music it holds:
You Tube Audio Library: Sign in to YouTube Studio. From the left-hand menu, select Audio Library.
Important: Given over 80 legal jurisdictions in the Diocese, we’re not able to offer a pan-diocesan, one-size fits approach on copyright issues. But we hope these essential pointers will help chaplaincies. Please note that you will need to check the legal position regarding copyright in your legal jurisdiction. The content of this article is for help and support, and does not constitute Diocese in Europe Board of Finance legal advice to users of this site.