It’s summer in the city, hot and humid. A streetcar rumbles by, followed by a Harley. We wait, standing as still as we can in the sanctuary. All the windows are shut tight. We’re dripping. Even the microphones are sweating. I raise my hand, ready for Take 13. The choir takes a group breath, and…a ROAR from Lake Ontario. The power boats are at it again. We know enough not to say bad words. Those mikes hear everything.
We wait for silence, and miracle of miracles: quiet. We start to sing.
“In the bleak midwinter, frosty winds make moan…”
Yup. It’s Christmas in July, and we are recording a CD. Like many churches, we found it a good way to let people know what was happening in worship and music in our congregation: the harp of Lori Gemmell, the piano of Don Anderson and Roger Chittenden (at that time 90-plus-years-young), guitars, percussion, the Holly and the Ivy and sweet singing in the choir.
Of course, times have changed, and churches are using YouTube, MySpace, and other internet outlets along with CDs to get the word—and music—out there. But the same challenges remain: how do you turn your music ministry into a wider mission?
One not-so-minor detail often omitted from the project, especially in churches, is copyright. The principle is simple. If you create something, it is your intellectual property, and you have the right to decide how it’s used. If you use someone’s intellectual property—a song, a hymn, an arrangement—and that person is still around (or hasn’t been dead for more than 75 years) you need to ask their permission. They might charge for the use; they might not. But you need to ask for their permission, even if you aren’t planning to make money from their intellectual property.
The specifics do sometimes get complicated, so here’s a link.
This pdf answers frequently asked questions, particularly about copying music and lyrics, and refers especially to The Book of Praise and The Book of Psalms. There are two other “rights.” One is mechanical rights: the right to record something. The other is broadcast rights. In Canada, mechanical rights are handled by CMRRA (Canadian Musical Rights Reproduction Agency).
I’ll write about broadcast rights—and other issues relating to recording—in another posting. But copyright not just a fussy detail, a crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s. It’s a justice issue. People actually buy groceries and pay rent with that money. Besides that, writers and composers (on the whole) want to be connected with people who are inspired, touched, challenged, by their words and music. Who knows? It might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
