Note: Please direct all questions concerning copyright to Kim Garreffa, Contemporary Music Consultant, THQ.

Phone 416-425-2111 x2208 or E-mail Kim_Garreffa@can.salvationarmy.org

Copyright ownership gives a songwriter and/or recording artist the right to monetary compensation if his work is duplicated in any capacity, whether for profit or not, or if his piece is performed in public, whether for profit or not.

How do you know if a song is copyrighted? If you have the sheet music for the piece, you can look at the bottom of the first page of the music. It will state there the year of copyright, and who owns it.  In the case of an audio recording, in most cases the CD jacket will state copyright ownership, but this isn’t always the case. Your best bet is to assume there is a copyright attached if the piece was written or recorded 1930 or later.
 

All music written prior to 1930 is now public domain, or free to duplicate, perform, and record by anyone without worrying about payment of copyright. However, please be aware that if you are using someone else’s arrangement or recording of a public domain piece, the arrangement and recording will be under copyright, and compensation will have to be paid if using it.

[In the case of Salvation Army owned and written music (as long as it is not “quoting” from a copyrighted piece of music), all SA music is free for the ministry unit to photocopy and reproduce as long as it is not a specialized band or choral arrangement, and it is not currently for sale from SP&S in England or Supplies & Purchasing at THQ.]

In Canada, there is a law that absolves churches from having to pay copyright fees for the performance of a copyrighted work in a worship service setting. It reads as follows:
 

No religious organization or institution, educational institution and no charitable or fraternal organization shall be held liable to pay any compensation for doing any of the following acts in furtherance of a religious, educational or charitable object:

(a) the live performance in public of a musical work;

(b) the performance in public of a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of a musical work; or

(c) the performance in public of a communication signal carrying

(i) the live performance in public of a musical work, or

(ii) a sound recording embodying a musical work or a performer's performance of a musical work.

It has been deemed that our camps come under the heading of “education”, and so are also exempt in this fashion. You’ll note, however, that the exemption comes under the heading of performance only, and does not cover the duplication of sheet music or sound recordings. This is where CCLI Licensing comes in.

CCLI Licensing (Christian Copyright Licensing International - www.ccli.com) is required for every ministry unit that hosts worship gatherings of any size, including small bible studies. Payment of an annual fee is made giving the unit licensed permission to photocopy music, reproduce music and lyrics onto media or into songsheets for worship service venues, and record services and create CDs for shut-in ministries (as long as the CDs are not being sold for profit). (The exception for this is choral music, which legally must be purchased for each choir member and not photocopied).

CCLI has licensed an agreement with The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory to give a 30% discount in rates to all its ministry units, provided that the Music and Gospel Arts Section oversees the gathering of funds from its ministry units and keeps CCLI updated on all its information. Thus each ministry unit is invoiced by Territorial Headquarters each April for its CCLI License, and Music & Gospel Arts in turn cuts a cheque for CCLI that covers licensing for all ministry units across the Territory. The cost to each ministry unit will range from $38.50 to $177.80 annually (2009 rates), according to the size of the congregation.

[Please note that the CCLI License is separate from CCLI’s Songselect service, which is an optional online service that ministry units for which ministry units can directly pay CCLI, giving the unit access to lyrics, lead sheets, choral arrangements, and guitar charts to thousands of  worship songs and hymns.]

Note:  CCLI-USA currently has no jurisdiction in Bermuda, and so currently in that country, CCLI Licensing does not apply.

Mechanical Licensing

Mechanical Licensing comes into play when a music ministry ensemble chooses to record a CD or DVD to be sold for profit. This includes a ministry unit recording a DVD and using audio accompaniment of a copyrighted piece as background music, assuming the music was originally performed by a Salvation Army ensemble.*

The ministry unit must apply for a mechanical license for use of the piece from the organization assigned to handling its copyright fees. For most secular and Christmas music, and for much of the most popular Christian music, mechanical licenses can all be obtained from CMRRA (Canadian Mechanical Reproduction Rights Agency – www.cmrra.ca - phone 416-926-1966). Their application is fairly straightforward, and money owing for copyright can be paid within 30 days of the release of the CD or DVD to the public. Count on spending ten to twelve cents per song per CD or DVD, with a minimum charge that assumes 500 copies (around $50.00 per song).

If CMRRA does not handle the song in question, usually you will be contacting companies in the States or the UK for the Licensing. In most cases, large umbrella companies do the dirty work for the smaller copyright companies, and most licensing is fairly straightforward, by filling out an online application. But you will have to pay the money up front, once your application is accepted. (My experience is that applications are processed within days, although there have been an exceptional few that have taken up to two months). CMRRA is usually very good at redirecting clients to the correct company if they don’t handle the song in question.

* I would advise against using a non-Army audio track as backing for a DVD. To make it legal, you must get permission from the original recording artist, and if that artist is well-known, it is usually next-to-impossible to get this permission. In this case, what is required is known as a Synchronization License, rather than a Mechanical License.

[Note – in the case of SA owned and copyrighted music, it is understood that it is absolutely copyright-free for any ministry unit who chooses to record it, and no license is needed. However, please be aware that more and more of our brass composers (e.g. William Himes, James Curnow, Stephen Bulla), are choosing to copyright their works outside the Army, and by doing so, have also signed their rights away to nullify this copyright, so copyright must be paid. In some cases, the composer owns their own copyright, and so permission must be granted directly from the composer in order to record their work.]

Broadcast Licensing

There are several types of Broadcast Licenses.

In the first case, Broadcast Licensing is involved for performance of copyrighted works at a professional concert venue. For instance, the OCE Division has hosted several concerts at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. Part of the union fees paid to use this venue is for Broadcast Licensing. But then the union looks after this and the performers don’t have to worry about it.

Secondly, Broadcast Licensing applies to the playing of CDs through an amplification system in a public but non-charitable venue such as our Thrift Stores (although they may be exempt in accordance with the religious exemption as written above). An organization in Canada called SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada – www.socan.ca) looks after this licensing, and fees apply according to the square footage of the venue. (In regards to thrift store licensing, this comes under John Kershaw’s jurisdiction: National Recycling, THQ).

Thirdly, Broadcast Licensing applies to radio stations for the playing of copyrighted music over the air waves. Again, SOCAN can be contacted in regards to this.

Fourthly, Broadcast Licensing applies to web or podcasts. But, as stated in the first section, the live broadcast of church services are exempt from this licensing.

Video Licensing

It is illegal to play DVDs in public venues, including churches, for public viewing, without a video license.

Territorial Headquarters actually pays for three video licenses for the Territory, as different movie companies are handled by different umbrella companies:  CVLI (Christian Video Licensing International --- the same company as CCLI, handling most Christian DVDs), Criterion Pictures, and Audio Ciné Film, the latter two handling all Hollywood-based videos. If you are showing a DVD, you can check on their websites to make sure that movie is covered: http://www.acf-film.com/  http://www.criterionpic.com http://www.cvli.org/cvli/index.cfm (choose CANADA).

If you are watching a video covered by this the Criterion Pictures license, you are required to submit a form each month indicating which videos were watched.  You can find the form on their website.

Each ministry unit is invoiced by THQ annually for their share of the cost of the video licenses. For more information, contact Christine LeBlanc at THQ Legal Department:  416-425-2111 x3366.

CSI Online Music Services Tariff

This involves the selling or giving away of copyrighted audio music online, as mp3 downloads. CMRRA handles it, so applications may be obtained through them. They will require you to report monthly the number of downloads from your site, and they will charge you a fee based on that number.

The Fair Dealing Law as it concerns the “quoting” of copyrighted material

Fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study does not infringe copyright.

Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned:
 

(a) the source; and
 

(b) if given in the source, the name of the
 

(i) author, in the case of a work,
 

(ii) performer, in the case of a performer's performance,
 

(iii) maker, in the case of a sound recording, or
 

(iv) broadcaster, in the case of a communication signal.
 

Note:  If reproducing an entire article online or in a magazine, written permission must be obtained from the website or magazine source for that article (not from the author). If the original source comes from a major company (e.g. New York Times), expect to pay a fee for the right to reprint an article.