How to Project and Reprint Music Legally

If you have questions regarding reprinting or projecting music for worship, please email permissions@crcna.org or watch the recorded Copyrights and Worship webinar to gain valuable information and learn how to take advantage of new technology and comply with copyright laws.

The information below is from the liftupyourheartshymnal.org website. On this website we have provided information for each song/hymn in Lift Up Your Hearts describing how to project and/or reprint it legally. Simply go to Songs and note which license, if any, is necessary to reproduce the song.

1. If I bought one of the digital versions, do I still need to ask for permission to use it in worship? Yes. As a publisher we have obtained permission to place the hymn/song in Lift Up Your Hearts, whether that be the print pew edition or the digital USB edition. We pay royalties to the copyright holders for each sale. If further copies are made (including projection), the party making the copies or projecting the material is responsible for the act of reproducing the material, and must 'pay' appropriate fees or obtain permission. Copyright companies such as CCLI, OneLicense.net, and LicenSing offer a service that helps the local church streamline this process for worship by offering licenses that cover many hymns/songs. Copyrighted material is indicated by a © on the bottom of the first page of the hymn/song. The © symbol indicates that in order to copy, reprint, or project the material, permission must be obtained or a copyright license used. We recommend owning copyright licenses. CCLI (link is external), OneLicense.net (link is external), and LicenSingonline.org (link is external) provide a service that facilitates this permission-getting process for you. By purchasing the annual license for your congregation, you will be able to reprint or project many hymns/songs that are registered with them. For specific guidelines and lists of songs covered, visit their websites. If you plan to project words, or words and music for the majority of your worship, we recommend that your church set it's annual budget to own these licenses. There are also songs copyrighted by individuals or companies not associated with those copyright clearing houses. See the Copyright Holder's Index for contact information for those copyrighted songs.
2. How do I know which copyright company (license) covers the song I want to use? You can go to Songs and note which license, if any, is necessary to reproduce the song. We also have compiled several lists of the hymns/songs in Lift Up Your Hearts that are covered by these major companies. For a copy of these lists, please email [email protected] (link sends e-mail).
3. How can I avoid asking permission? Sing from pew edition hymnal, or reprint or project only hymns/songs that are in the Public Domain.
4. How do I request permission? To seek copyright permission from companies and individuals, write a letter, send an email, phone them, or send a fax. We have created a basic outline (Word | PDF) that you can follow.

Files:  Draft Permission Letter.docx Draft Permission Letter.pdf