More CCLI Questions Answered

I get questions from customers and possible future users about CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing, Inc.). For those of you who have never heard of them, CCLI is a company who handles paying song (and now some video) copyrights for churches. It is basically illegal for anyone to make a copy of a copyrighted song without the permission of the controlling agent of that song. Permission is usually accompanied by the requirement of paying a fee to the agent based on the number of copies to be made or making a slide to be projected. In the past, churches have basically ignored this basic concept because of the difficulty of fulfilling their obligation to the song owners. With CCLI, most of those obligations can be met by becoming a member and paying an annual fee based on the size of the congregation. With CCLI, you can: Print songs, hymns and lyrics in bulletins, programs, liturgies and songsheets for use in congregational singing. Create your own customized songbooks or hymnals for use in congregational singing. Create overhead transparencies, slides or use any other format whereby song lyrics are visually projected (such as computer graphics and projection) for use in congregational singing. Arrange, print and copy your own arrangements (vocal and instrumental) of songs used for congregational singing, where no published version is available. Record your worship services (audio or video) provided you only record live music. Accompaniment tracks cannot be reproduced. You may charge up to $4 each for audiocassette tapes and CDs, and $12 each for videotapes and DVDs. The information above and below are directly from the CCLI site. While "song lyrics" is specific and music is left out, that is not the case in the full agreements terms. Being a member of CCLI does not entitle you to: Photocopy or duplicate octavos, cantatas, musicals, handbell music, keyboard arrangements, vocal scores, orchestrations or other instrumental works. Translate songs into another language. This can only be done with the approval of the respective publisher. Rent, sell or lend copies made under the license to groups outside the church or to other churches. (It is OK to distribute recordings to shut-ins, missionaries or others outside the church.) Assign or transfer the license to another church or group without CCLI's approval. For most of our users, these limitations are not problems because most do not have choirs and do not use instruments. The main purpose of CCLI has always been to give churches a means of paying copyrights for copies of songs used in the public assembly by the congregation. They have nothing to do with any products sold, like The Paperless Hymnal. Therefore we cannot require our customers to have a CCLI license to use our product. Question anyone selling a product requiring that of you. The above is the part most of us know about CCLI. To tell about the rest of the story I will use a company I just started. Austin Christian Acappella Music is a company set up to handle copyrights, sales, and licensing for Konstantin Zhigulin here in the United States. For churches to make copies of Konstantin's music through CCLI, his music must be listed with CCLI. They do not cover music not listed with them. To accomplish this, we filed all of Konstantin's published work with the Library of Congress to register his copyrights. Then ACAM filed to become a listed administrator and publisher with CCLI and at the same time filed all of Konstantin's songs with CCLI. All of that has been done but it may be a few months before we show up on the Publisher List or the Authorized Catalogue List. Once listed, publishers will receive from CCLI their portion of the paid fees. Now, here is the part that churches play in the picture. CCLI has churches report to them the number of each covered song that is copied, made into an overhead or slide, or put into a booklet. CCLI then analyzes these reports to determine the amounts paid out to each administrator. If your church has a CCLI license and you do not report your activity during your reporting period, you are forfeiting your input into determining payouts. For famous songwriters, this probably isn't a problem, but for those lesser known songwriters whom you may know, you may be denying them their share of the fees. In our case, the only way that Konstantin will get any money from CCLI will be for you to report any copies of his works that you make. The Paperless Hymnal does not pay CCLI any fees. Instead, we pay fees directly to those controlling the songs we publish. Each year, we pay out $$thousands$$ in these copyright fees which come from the price you pay for The Paperless Hymnal. However, if you want to make copies of the FullSong pages for some reason other than song leader use, you should place your CCLI license number (if you have one) on each copy you make. This is the same as you copying songs from your paper hymnal or other source. Here are a few other things about CCLI that you should know: You only need to report to CCLI copying songs that are still under copyright. Public domain songs are free to copy. Songs published before 1923 are now public domain. Don't put your CCLI number on public domain songs that you copy. Not all songs enjoy a listing with CCLI. If a song is under copyright protection and not listed with CCLI, you must obtain permission from the copyright administrator to copy that song. Putting your CCLI number and even reporting it to CCLI will not protect you. Special music copied for your chorus is NOT covered by CCLI. You must get permission or buy copies of the music from the publisher if the songs are under copyright protection. You can not make copies at your congregation and take them anywhere else and be covered. Songs used at a church must bear that church's CCLI number.