Copyright: Rights & Responsibilities
By Michael Mangan
I recently returned from a school concert tour in a regional diocese. While waiting in the parish church for the students to arrive for their concert, I noticed a printout of the powerpoint slides for the following Sunday’s Mass sitting on the piano. Always interested in what music is being used in different places, I leafed through the document to check out the local repertoire. What struck me immediately was that there was no acknowledgment of a composer, publisher or copyright licence information anywhere in the presentation. It reminded me that despite decades of education and publicity, many parishes are still unaware of their rights and responsibilities regarding copyright, especially in the area of music.
What is copyright?
Copyright is effectively the “right to copy.” The Australian Copyright Act protects the rights of the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and visual artistic works, recordings and published editions. The copyright owner, usually the creator and/or publisher, have the legal right to control the reproduction, publishing, communication, adaptation or public performance of their work and to receive fair recompense for their artistic creation. In Australia, and many other countries, the artist, writer or composer also has the right of attribution i.e. to be acknowledged as the creator of the work.
What is copyright?
Copyright is effectively the “right to copy.” The Australian Copyright Act protects the rights of the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and visual artistic works, recordings and published editions. The copyright owner, usually the creator and/or publisher, have the legal right to control the reproduction, publishing, communication, adaptation or public performance of their work and to receive fair recompense for their artistic creation. In Australia, and many other countries, the artist, writer or composer also has the right of attribution i.e. to be acknowledged as the creator of the work.
Moral & Justice Considerations
There was once a widely held belief that liturgical and religious music was composed for the glory of God and should therefore be provided free of charge for Church use. This sounds wonderful in principle but overlooks the fact that many composers devote their professional lives to providing quality music for the Church. Like any professional, they require a financial return to support them in this important vocation. Similarly, publishers invest considerable amounts to make recordings, hymnals and sheet music available and need to receive an appropriate return to enable their service to the Church to remain viable.
No parish expects to receive a continuous free supply of communion wafers, altar wine or church candles, yet some seem to expect that the work of composers and publishers should be provided at no cost. These people tend to forget that a composer’s rent, food, petrol and electricity costs the same as everyone else’s. The priest who “doesn’t believe in copyright,” or the church organist who is adamant that liturgical music is for Jesus and “should be available for free” are unfortunately on the wrong side of a moral argument, and are also placing themselves, and their parishes, on the wrong side of the law. Not paying justly for copyright is exactly the same as stealing candles and communion wafers from the local Christian supplies store. Thankfully, the vast majority of people support the right of those who create and publish liturgical music to fair and just compensation and recognises the value that good music brings to liturgy and Church life.
There was once a widely held belief that liturgical and religious music was composed for the glory of God and should therefore be provided free of charge for Church use. This sounds wonderful in principle but overlooks the fact that many composers devote their professional lives to providing quality music for the Church. Like any professional, they require a financial return to support them in this important vocation. Similarly, publishers invest considerable amounts to make recordings, hymnals and sheet music available and need to receive an appropriate return to enable their service to the Church to remain viable.
No parish expects to receive a continuous free supply of communion wafers, altar wine or church candles, yet some seem to expect that the work of composers and publishers should be provided at no cost. These people tend to forget that a composer’s rent, food, petrol and electricity costs the same as everyone else’s. The priest who “doesn’t believe in copyright,” or the church organist who is adamant that liturgical music is for Jesus and “should be available for free” are unfortunately on the wrong side of a moral argument, and are also placing themselves, and their parishes, on the wrong side of the law. Not paying justly for copyright is exactly the same as stealing candles and communion wafers from the local Christian supplies store. Thankfully, the vast majority of people support the right of those who create and publish liturgical music to fair and just compensation and recognises the value that good music brings to liturgy and Church life.
Legal Considerations
The owners of copyrighted works are legally entitled to take action against an individual or entity that infringes any of the rights mentioned above. Australian parishes have been subject to substantial fines when it was discovered that they were making illegal photocopies of sheet music or displaying or reprinting song lyrics without permission. Under current provisions, fines for breaches of copyright are up to $60,000 for individuals and $300,000 for corporations such as dioceses or parishes. Whether someone personally agrees with the concept of copyright or not, is irrelevant. It is the law!
Copyright Issues for Parishes
The primary aspects of music copyright that are relevant to parishes are:
1. The provision of the lyrics and melody lines for the congregation so that they can participate in sung worship.
2. The provision of sheet music for instrumentalists, cantors and choristers.
3. The livestreaming of liturgies.
All of these require knowledge and understanding of copyright responsibilities.
Projecting & Reprinting Lyrics & Melody Lines
Liturgical music requires the full, conscious and active participation of the whole assembly by singing together as the gathered Body of Christ. To enable this, participants need ready access to at least song lyrics and perhaps to notated melody lines. These are provided in various forms; in published hymnals, by projection on to screens, or through reprints in Mass booklets, song sheets or newsletters.
A parish that exclusively uses published hymnals and never projects or reprints lyrics or melody lines has already paid copyright fees when the hymnals were originally purchased and there are no further responsibilities.
If a parish does reprint or project lyrics or melody lines but these are exclusively for hymns which are in the public domain there are no copyright responsibilities. It is incumbent on a parish to understand when a piece of music enters the public domain. In Australia, this does not occur until 70 years after the composer’s death (not 70 years after the hymn was composed.) The fact that a song seems to have been around for a long time doesn’t qualify it as a public domain piece. Many would expect that the widely-used How Great Thou Art must be in the public domain. However, while it was originally published in 1949, composer Stuart K Hine only died in 1989. So this old favourite won’t be in the public domain until 2059.
Church Copyright Licence Agencies
The vast majority of parishes do, at least sometimes, reprint or project lyrics or melodies of songs which are still in copyright and for this to be done legally, a reprint licence must be purchased.
To save every individual parish having to negotiate with, and then pay hundreds of composers and publishers, Church Copyright Licence agencies have done the negotiations and obtained the rights to sell licences, collect payments and distribute royalties to the copyright owners. This means that a parish need only deal with one, or perhaps two agencies, depending on their repertoire requirements. To legally print or project lyrics and/or melody lines of songs which are still in copyright, a parish must purchase a Reprint Licence which allows them to do so. In Australia and New Zealand there are two agencies which offer the necessary music copyright licences to churches.
One License covers the vast majority of Catholic repertoire. Its member publishers include the Catholic “big three” of GIA, OCP and WLP along with dozens of others, including Wild Goose, Taize, Spirit & Song along with the main Australian Catholic publishers and composers e.g. Willow Publishing, Liturgical Song, Litmus Productions, Emmaus, Butterfly, Ovation. CCLI represents much of the music of non-Catholic Christian denominations, especially Evangelical and Pentecostal publishers including Hillsong, Crossroads and Hosanna Integrity along with some of the Australian Catholic publishers mentioned above.
It is important to note that GIA, OCP and WLP composers (Marty Haugen, Michael Joncas, Bernadette Farrell, Taize etc.) are not covered under a CCLI licence. Conversely, while some evangelical music is available through One License, Hillsong music is exclusively covered by CCLI.
If your parish is reprinting or displaying lyrics and melody lines, it would be difficult to provide sufficient Catholic seasonal and liturgical repertoire without a One License subscription. Many parishes may then choose to also subscribe to a CCLI licence for supplementary repertoire.
Subscribing to the annual licence gives a parish the right to project and/or reprint any songs which are covered by that licencing agency There are then some responsibilities that the parish commits to under the terms of the licence.
Livestreaming Liturgies
Livestreaming came to the fore when churches were closed during the pandemic and many parishes have continued with this. Livestreaming liturgy is effectively broadcasting and communicating material which is covered by copyright. This also requires a licence and both One License and CCLI have “add-on” podcast or streaming options to cover this.
Responsibilities
Reporting
Under the terms of both One License and CCLI, a parish must report titles and composers of all songs which were printed, projected or livestreamed at every Mass or worship gathering during each week. This includes weddings, funerals and school liturgies in the parish church. These reports provide the data required to fairly and accurately distribute royalties to the composers and publishers whose songs have been used in your parish that week. The reports are submitted online and are quite simple to complete once the system is initially set up. Note that psalms, acclamations and Mass settings must also be included in the reports. Some Dioceses have purchased blanket licences for all their parishes, however each parish still has the responsibility to report the titles that they have used each week.
Acknowledgement
As mentioned earlier, creators have the right of attribution. This means that a copyright acknowledgement must be included on every reprint, Mass booklet or on slides of song lyrics or melodies projected on to screens. The acknowledgement should include the name of the author/composer, the copyright year and publisher, along with the licensing agency and the parish licence number e.g.
“Song of Gathering” Lyrics: Peter A Poet. Music: Mary J Composer © 2018 XYZ Publications. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE # A-000000. All rights reserved.
Reprinting or display of Mass settings or psalms must acknowledge the copyright owner of both the text and the music e.g.
“Holy, Holy, Holy” – New Mass by Mary J Composer. Music: © 2013 XYZ Publications. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-000000. All rights reserved. Text: Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved.
Types of Re-print Licences & Costs
The most common licence is an Annual reprint licence which covers a parish for all their congregational reprint or projection needs for a whole year. Single-use licences are available for a one-time usage and Event licences cover an event such as a conference for up to one week. The cost of an annual licence is based on average weekly Mass attendance. Based on my parish’s annual One License subscription and the number of “sung Masses” we have each year, I calculated that our licence costs approximately $3.30 per Mass – around half a cup of coffee!
Reporting
Under the terms of both One License and CCLI, a parish must report titles and composers of all songs which were printed, projected or livestreamed at every Mass or worship gathering during each week. This includes weddings, funerals and school liturgies in the parish church. These reports provide the data required to fairly and accurately distribute royalties to the composers and publishers whose songs have been used in your parish that week. The reports are submitted online and are quite simple to complete once the system is initially set up. Note that psalms, acclamations and Mass settings must also be included in the reports. Some Dioceses have purchased blanket licences for all their parishes, however each parish still has the responsibility to report the titles that they have used each week.
Acknowledgement
As mentioned earlier, creators have the right of attribution. This means that a copyright acknowledgement must be included on every reprint, Mass booklet or on slides of song lyrics or melodies projected on to screens. The acknowledgement should include the name of the author/composer, the copyright year and publisher, along with the licensing agency and the parish licence number e.g.
“Song of Gathering” Lyrics: Peter A Poet. Music: Mary J Composer © 2018 XYZ Publications. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE # A-000000. All rights reserved.
Reprinting or display of Mass settings or psalms must acknowledge the copyright owner of both the text and the music e.g.
“Holy, Holy, Holy” – New Mass by Mary J Composer. Music: © 2013 XYZ Publications. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-000000. All rights reserved. Text: Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved.
Types of Re-print Licences & Costs
The most common licence is an Annual reprint licence which covers a parish for all their congregational reprint or projection needs for a whole year. Single-use licences are available for a one-time usage and Event licences cover an event such as a conference for up to one week. The cost of an annual licence is based on average weekly Mass attendance. Based on my parish’s annual One License subscription and the number of “sung Masses” we have each year, I calculated that our licence costs approximately $3.30 per Mass – around half a cup of coffee!
Weddings & Funerals: Secular Songs
We are all familiar with the inevitable requests for popular/secular songs for weddings and funerals. Leaving aside questions of liturgical suitability, there are important copyright issues. Church copyright licences don’t cover secular songs. Therefore, secular song lyrics should never be reprinted or projected by the parish. (Funeral Directors may have a licence which allows them to reprint secular songs in Funeral Booklets which they prepare and print under their licence number.)
Under a special “worship exemption,” music may be performed live or played from a recording within a worship service without copyright issues as long as lyrics are not reprinted or projected. So, while I can’t believe I am typing this, a recording of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life can legally be played as the coffin is carried to the hearse as long as the lyrics aren’t printed or projected. (Please don't though!)
Photocopying or Sharing Sheet Music
Sheet music containing choral or keyboard arrangements, guitar chords or instrumental parts cannot be photocopied for musicians and singers under the reprint licence above. One License does not allow any scanning, photocopying or digital sharing of sheet music. Originals copies or the appropriate number of digital downloads must be purchased from the publisher. CCLI has an “add on” Music Reproduction Licence which allows limited copying of some of their catalogue.
The physical image of a piece of sheet music is copyrighted to the publisher of the piece. In Australia, this physical image enters the public domain 25 years after publication. However, it still cannot be freely copied if the actual musical work it contains is not yet in the public domain. (See How Great Thou Art above.)
Summary
• There is a moral and legal obligation to respect copyright law and the rights of composers and publishers.
• If a parish livestreams, reprints or projects copyrighted song lyrics or melodies for any prayer, worship or liturgical celebration, a licence must be purchased.
• Under the terms of the licence, a copyright acknowledgement must be displayed for each song and the songs used each week must be reported to the licensing agency.
It’s really not that hard. Let’s all do the right thing, respect the law and the rights of composers and publishers, and get church copyright right!
Michael Mangan is a composer, liturgist,educator, and leader of sung prayer. He is the Liturgy Education Consultant at Liturgy Brisbane, the Director of Litmus Productions and National Chair of the Australian Pastoral Musicians Network (APMN). In addition to his qualifications in music and education, he has a Masters of Theology (Liturgical Studies). Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/with permission. |