There is often a LOT of confusion around copyright and licensing, particularly when it comes to the world of broadcast. I'll preface all of this by saying, I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV... but here is my understanding of your situation as a church that wants to play on TV.
If you are broadcasting on a major cable system, or any broadcast station, they will have an ASCAP, SESAC and BMI license in place. This is a performance license and they are responsible for it.
If you are synchronizing video with audio, in other words, using copyrighted music as a music bed for video, you need a synch license. This includes your show open, any music videos you do, or even a mission team report that has a music track underneath.
Synch licenses are, frankly, a pain in the neck. They used to be easy, because the Harry Fox agency had an online tool that let you get them quickly. They are out of that business now. The still do mechanicals and other license types.
Another online service, MusicServices.org offers the same service, and they seem to have a pretty solid library of contemporary Christian tunes. That's a huge help. They also do mechanicals and other types of licenses online.
If the song you want isn't in their library, you have two options. First, you can contact the individual rights holder to negotiate them. This takes time. Lots of time.
You can also hire Church Copyright Administrators to do this for you. It's easy, but because of their minimum project fees, it can be rather pricey, if you're just trying to get a quick video done for the youth.
An easier path is to purchase royalty free tracks for these uses. There are dozens of options, including Killer Tracks, Music Bakery and many others. For a single fee, you get use of the track for whatever you want, forever.
Now... none of this applies to web streaming. To be legal for web streaming, you need the appropriate license from ASCAP, 
SESAC and BMI. The easy way is to purchase a blanket WorshipCast license from Church Copyright Administrators. You have to report your music use on a quarterly basis, but it's easy to do online.
But wait, there's more. If you're offering the service for DOWNLOAD... the ChurchCA blanket doesn't cover you. You're back to dealing with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC directly.
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What about CCLI. They have a great blanket license for audio and video. Thoughts?
Great question, and thanks for bringing it up! CCLI is a great tool, and virtually all churches should have that license in place. When we're talking about broadcast, though, it doesn't apply. CCLI allows you to project lyrics in a service, and gives you several other specific permissions. None of those permissions extend over to your broadcast, whether over the air, or on the Internet.
Same thing with your CVLI license for use of video in services. That doesn't extend to use of the same video clip in a broadcast or on the Internet. You need to negotiate permission for those uses with the distributor of the film. I'm working right now with Warner Bros. and Fox Searchlight Films to get ready for our "Award Winners" movie-based sermon series later this summer. It's not hard to do, but it is some extra work.
Hey Kirk!
This is a great topic, and I'm glad that you are opening a dialogue about music copyrights. I think it's safe to say that most churches and ministries want to do things the right way, they just don't quite know exactly how it works. Or, as you put it, this stuff can be a "pain in the neck," so some just ignore the process altogether.
One I'll add one quick point: You mentioned that for using music in a video a "synch license" is required. This is true, and a synch license comes from the publisher of any piece of music. However, a license to use the master recording (aka a "master use" licenese) is also required. This is the case for all videos--whether it is going to be broadcast, on the web, or even just shown in the sanctuary only.
Often times the record label controls the use of the master, so you would need to clear rights from them. OR, if you have the talent & studio resources, sometimes you can save money by recording your own master recording of a popular song. You would still need to clear the synch, but now you don't need to contact the label for master use rights.
I won't rant on, but I posted a very brief summary about music publishing a couple weeks ago: http://blog.5alarmmusic.com/the-scene/how-do-i-get-my-music-on-tv/. Sorry for the shameless self plug :)
Keep up the great work!
Craig you are absolutely right... and I'm negilgent in not mentioning the master use license. My experience with HFA has been that it's all one transaction. They provided both master and the synch license! Very convenient... so much so that you're not likely to even think about the fact that there are two licenses involved. I'm looking forward to checking more on Music Services to see their service.
I couldn't agree with you guys more. Most of the people don't know how to obtain a license to use music, and some of them don't even know they have too... But I've recently came across this site called www.youlicense.com where you can obtain licenses to use music for all kinds of purposes, and you don't have to do clearing and all that because the songs there are already cleared. I tried it once and it was really easy, and it saved me a lot of headache...
YouLicense looks interesting. It's really just another royalty free music site. They are facilitating the transaction directly with the composer, it looks like. Kicking quickly through some of the tracks, there's some nice music. I didn't register, so I have no idea what costs are like. If they're competitive on price, looks like a nice resource.
Hi,
This is Ayelet from Youlicense.com. I saw the last two posts and I would like to explain a little better who we are and what we do, as it seems the readers of this blog might benefit from this introduction.
YouLicense is an online music licensing marketplace. We have developed a platform which enables artists and those seeking musical content to conduct business directly with one another in a safe and secure environment. Our unique search engine and standardized contracts allow for a quick and easy process.
So we're not a royalty free site. We are a place where artists offer music and people seeking to license music can meet and conduct business. the costs on Youlicense depends on the type of use, and the caliber of the artist and the buyer. It's the buyer who gives the first offer, so everything is pretty much open.
For more information about YouLicense, you're welcome to visit our site:
http://www.youlicense.com
Take care!
Kirk, another source for licensing is Seeker Solutions. They offer a web streaming package that covers ALL music that could ever possibly be used in a service both secular and sacred. It's basically a BMI/ASCAP streaming license. I believe it also covers archived material. Now this is streamed material not downloads or podcasts.
www.seekersolutions.com
Another source, I believe, is the Willow Creek Association. I think they offer a streaming license like Seeker Solutions to their association members. That's www.willowcreek.com, if you use org, you get the church's site.
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