Does the normal operation of a church music department violate Copyright Law?
NO. * Most church music is public domain, either because the music is old, or because the text is scripture. No one can charge you for using such music. * Most church use of copyrighted music falls under the fair use provisions of the copyright statutes. No one can charge you for such use. * It is not illegal to sing copyrighted songs, no matter how many people sing them. No one can sue you for using songs in a nonprofit, educational, charitable service. Of course if your church is not a labor of love, and is instead a commercial vehicle through which you are trying to enrich yourselves through large-scale copying of ‘copyrighted music’, you probably ought to negotiate directly with the publishers for a license. WHAT IS CCLI? CCLI is a collection agency that funds its operations, and the salaries of its scores of employees, by convincing churches that the churches are ‘breaking the law’ by doing what’s necessary to sing songs in their worship services. CCLI’s claims are highly deceptiv
