Television stations and radio stations must obtain a performance license to broadcast a worship service. Should Podcasting involve a performance license too?
In the opinion of publishers and songwriters, the short answer is “yes” to these questions. Any time the music is streamed outside the church walls it is considered public performance. ASCAP has very sophisticated New Media departments that can easily and economically deal with these issues. ASCAP’s licensing process for these new usages can be done on-line at their website www.ascap.com. Christian publishers will gladly assist you in obtaining a mechanical license for any downloading your church wishes to facilitate. Some of them have procedures on their websites to easily facilitate this process. Many of them are represented by Music Services www.musicservices.org and the Harry Fox Agency www.harryfox.com . There is also an organization called Church Copyright Administration www.churchca.com that has developed a licensing bundle that could prove to be useful to churches in responding to new media issues. As with all other uses, the creator of a song can choose to waive any licensing
