Question:
This may not belong in Worship Leading, and if the discussion leans more toward Music Business and Music Technology, then I’ll move it…
Suppose I write a new tune for a public domain text. Some publisher copyrights and prints the song. You buy the songbook and use the song in worship. You’ve purchased copies of the music for your platform people, but project/print lyrics for the congregation.
Here come the questions: Is what you’re projecting (public domain text) copyrighted or not? If not, then would you have to list that on you CCLI report?
Let me give you specific examples: Chris Tomlin’s The Wonderful Cross has an added chorus, the text of which is copyrighted, and therefore, should be added to the CCLI report if the lyrics are printed. But Robbie Seay has written a new tune to Come Ye Sinners, which appears on Todd Agnew’s Grace Like Rain album. The text is not altered in any way that I can tell, so should the printing of the lyrics be reported to CCLI, even though the praise team performed it with the new tune?
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Slow morning huh?
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*drops a piece of cheese for Nate*
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Admit it... you're just trying to see if you can stump me, yes??
Originally Posted by Tony Suppose I write a new tune for a public domain text. Some publisher copyrights and prints the song. You buy the songbook and use the song in worship. You’ve purchased copies of the music for your platform people, but project/print lyrics for the congregation.
Here come the questions: Is what you’re projecting (public domain text) copyrighted or not?
That's sort of a tricky question, but not really.
Originally Posted by U.S. Legal Code, Title 17, Section 102 (a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship ... Works of authorship include the following categories: ... (2) musical works, including any accompanying words
In other words, the music and the words are copyrighted together whenever a musical work is copyrighted, and the copyright will expire for both simultaneously.
Originally Posted by U.S. Legal Code, Title 17, Section 103 (b) The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material.
Originally Posted by U.S. Legal Code, Title 17, Section 101 A “derivative work” is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications, which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a “derivative work”.
Section 106 (2) of Title 17 grants to copyright owners the exclusive right to "to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work". (they can, of course, license this right out to other parties)
If a work is public domain, the exclusive rights granted by Section 106 to copyright owners are nullified. In other words, anyone has the right to prepare a derivative work based on a work that has entered into public domain. However, as I showed you in Section 103 (b), the copyright protection for the derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the person making the derivative work, and does not affect the copyright status of the original work at all.
In other words, if you make a new musical arrangement for lyrics that have entered into public domain (which you have the right to do, once they do, in fact, enter public domain), the only copyright protection that you have is for the music that you have added to the lyrics. The copyright status of the original lyrics does not change at all. They are still public domain and free for anyone else to use as they see fit.
So, the answer to your question ("Is what you’re projecting (public domain text) copyrighted or not?") is no, the public domain lyrics that you are projecting are not copyrighted, and can never be copyrighted again. The music you are playing, however, would be copyrighted.
If not, then would you have to list that on you CCLI report?
As I understand CCLI, they deal only with the licensing of lyrics and printed sheet music, and you would, therefore, probably not have to report your use of public domain lyrics (which they are legally forbidden from licensing) to them.
Let me give you specific examples: Chris Tomlin’s The Wonderful Cross has an added chorus, the text of which is copyrighted, and therefore, should be added to the CCLI report if the lyrics are printed.
Correct.
But Robbie Seay has written a new tune to Come Ye Sinners, which appears on Todd Agnew’s Grace Like Rain album. The text is not altered in any way that I can tell, so should the printing of the lyrics be reported to CCLI, even though the praise team performed it with the new tune?
No. There is no reason that I can see that you should have to report your use of public domain lyrics to CCLI.
Hope that helps!
In His love,
Nate
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Originally Posted by Nate Admit it... you're just trying to see if you can stump me, yes?? Attempt to stump the Master? I think not...
No, it's a real question. Our church is reporting to CCLI this quarter, and I was wondering about what gets reported.
Originally Posted by Nate There is no reason that I can see that you should have to report your use of public domain lyrics to CCLI. Yeah, I was thinking along those same lines. So lets take it a step further: What if the song lyrics are a direct quote from Scripture? Or, here's one that has me thinking everytime we do it: Create In Me a Clean Heart has words and music by Anonymous. Meaning, I assume, that publishers do not know who wrote the song, even though they copyright their arrangement of it in their songbooks. If I'm only printing lyrics, do I owe anybody for the rights to do so?
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Originally Posted by Tony No, it's a real question. Our church is reporting to CCLI this quarter, and I was wondering about what gets reported.
As right as I think I am, it would be best to contact CCLI directly regarding the report.
I did a quick search of their website after I made my post, but I didn't really find anything helpful (if I remember our church's CCLI number, I could probably log-in and look for something more helpful... I'll see about that in a second).
I, personally, am not fond of (nor do I understand) CCLI. The right to copy that they grant is useful, but it seems as though more people are concerned with the ability to project the lyrics on a screen, which seems to be granted by this section of copyright law:
Originally Posted by U.S. Legal Code, Title 17, Section 110 Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
...
(3) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly
As far as I can tell, the only way to "display" a musical work is to display the lyrics to the work, and this section says that during the course of services at a place of worship, it is not copyright infringement to "display" "a nondramatic literary or musical work ... of a religious nature".
Oh well. It's best to contact CCLI directly, still.
So lets take it a step further: What if the song lyrics are a direct quote from Scripture?
You'd probably have to report it. Nearly all Scripture translations are copyrighted (believe it or not) nowadays, and any Christian artist who wishes to use part of a copyrighted Scripture translation in their song would probably have to obtain permission from the publisher of the translation in question. The lyrics would most certainly be copyrighted, and the song would be subject to CCLI's licensing.
Or, here's one that has me thinking everytime we do it: Create In Me a Clean Heart has words and music by Anonymous. Meaning, I assume, that publishers do not know who wrote the song, even though they copyright their arrangement of it in their songbooks. If I'm only printing lyrics, do I owe anybody for the rights to do so?
I am not sure what copyright law says about anonymous works, but I believe that the publishers of said works would be able to obtain copyright protection for them. As such, you'd probably have to report these as well.
The best thing for you to do, really, would be to utilize CCLI's Song Search function on their site. It allows you to determine the copyright status of pretty much any Christian song you can think of, and will tell you (if applicable) the copyright information and CCLI number for the song in question. Go here and click on Song Search under the Visitors heading.
In His love,
Nate
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By the way, it's no big deal for us to go ahead and report song usage, neither does it cost any more than our annual license to do so, and so I'm sure that's what is being done. I'm just curious about it all.
I know that some Bible translations (NIV, for instance) permit you to quote a certain amount without acquiring permission. I wonder if that applies to song lyrics?
I've got other questions to pose, but I'll save them for another thread.
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Originally Posted by Tony I know that some Bible translations (NIV, for instance) permit you to quote a certain amount without acquiring permission. I wonder if that applies to song lyrics?
That's a really interesting question, and I don't know the answer. I would imagine you could find out by contacting (either by phone, snail mail, or email) the publisher.
In His love,
Nate
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By the way, kids, don't let my musings fool you. Nate's recommendation to go directly to publishers or CCLI are dead on. If you are unsure as to whether or not it's "okay" do print/project something, please don't just guess.
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Does every church have to report to CCLI by law or do they just need a lisence?
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Originally Posted by acura8591 Does every church have to report to CCLI by law or do they just need a lisence? If your church has a CCLI license, then you're usually selected to report 1 quarter every 2 years. So it's not so bad.
A license is optional, but churches need to do something in order to make their printing or projecting of copyrighted material legal. CCLI is a pretty inexpensive way to do that.
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Originally Posted by Tony If your church has a CCLI license, then you're usually selected to report 1 quarter every 2 years. So it's not so bad.
A license is optional, but churches need to do something in order to make their printing or projecting of copyrighted material legal. CCLI is a pretty inexpensive way to do that.
I might add here that many churches pay the CCLI fee but never get the reporting part right. We paid CCLI for several years before we got a new music director and she realized we had been reporting incorrectly for a long time. Many assume that paying the fee is all you have to do.