How can I go about including music in online church videos?
A question from a reader: I’m currently doing some design work for a church that is looking into putting videos of some activities online. The videos are of church activities, but they would like to put clips of recent Christian music in as a soundtrack. I’ve been doing some research and the copyright stuff seems to get a bit fuzzy based on commercial/non-commercial stuff.
So – is this a possibility? I have found various “pod-safe” music sites online, but obviously the church would like to go with music containing Christian themes. Any suggestions?
PLEASE include citations if you offer any advice. This isn’t a question that can ride on “I THINK this is ok…” answers since it could end up leading towards serious legal situations.
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if you only feature snippets of the songs its ok…so i say loop snippets together.
No, it isn’t fuzzy. All works are automatically copyrighted when they are created. The person originating the work owns that copyright.
A copyright persists in modern works for 70 years after the death of the originator. (Not true for things created pre 1960s though).
You can only use a copyrighted work if you have EXPRESS permission – that is, someone said yes, or you have a written permission. Not being able to contact the owner doesn’t give you permission.
Some people/organizations release their work with a copyright notice saying it is free to use – in that case, you can, within the strictures of their license, use that content. See “Creative Commons” licensing for more information, or go to http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page for more info on that.
To the prior poster – ‘looping bits together’ would constitute a ‘derivitive work’ and would not be allowed. They are trying to refer to ‘fair use’ doctrine which can be vague, but basically says you can use a snippet of sound or a movie as part of a review, or if you are using it for education, or criticism. Just putting small clips together and making your own soundtrack does not constitute ‘fair use’.
Whay you want to do is contact the licensing agent for the music. Nearly all music is licensed by either ASCAP or BMI. Contact them to see if they cover the music you are interested in.
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