CCLI - A Quick Guide to Song Lyrics
Do I need a CCLI License for my church?
YES! If you’re starting a new church or if your established church doesn’t yet have one, you will need a license in order to print, project and store copyrighted song lyrics for worship services. Christian Copyright Licensing International [CCLI] provides churches, organizations and schools with licenses and access to licensed Christian music. Unless a song is part of the public domain (like many older hymns), the law requires that you have a license to print, project and store lyrics.
The CCLI website covers all of this information and more. We’ve tried to summarize the most important parts for you here.
What is copyright?
According to CCLI’s site, “Copyright is an exclusive intellectual property right given to the creators of original musical, literary and dramatic works...CCLI helps you honor copyright law and the creative people who author these valuable works.”
What does a CCLI license cover?
CCLI offers an annual license that covers printing, projecting and storing lyrics. It also allows for you to make custom arrangements, record your live worship services and translate songs. CCLI offers additional licenses to cover rehearsals and for the streaming or podcasting of recorded worship services. The CCLI Streaming and Streaming Plus licenses extend your permissions to cover webcasting to make your services available to those not able to attend in-person.
Have a license but not sure you’re using it correctly?
The CCLI manual includes instructions on the proper format for publishing copyright information. It says: When reproducing a Song, include the song title, writer credit(s) and copyright notice in substantially the following form:
“Hallelujah” words and music by John Doe
© 2018 Good Music Co.
Used by Permission. CCLI License #12345 (Note this is your church’s CCLI license number and not the song number)
If a song is published in multiple slides, the copyright information must only appear once - usually on the first or last slide of the song.
What if a song I want to use isn’t in CCLI?
There is a common misconception that if a song isn’t listed in CCLI, that it can be performed freely. This is not correct. If a song is not listed in CCLI, it simply means your license does not allow you to print, store or project the lyrics of that song. In this case, you can try to contact the songwriter to obtain permission directly.
How can I access lyrics?
Beyond the license, CCLI has an additional product, Song Select, that gives you access to Song lyrics as well as lead and chord sheets (i.e. sheet music). We highly recommend this product. It’s especially helpful for those who want access to sheet music.
Does CCLI provide slides of Song lyrics?
No, CCLI does not provide slides but they do have several API partners that when linked with CCLI’s Song Select, will populate slides with lyrics. Some of those partners are ProPresenter (the most popular option), Proclaim, ShareFaith and a free option called Worship Extreme.
Are you using one of CCLI’s API partners to create slides? If yes, we’d love to hear how that is working for you and if you’d recommend it to others. Feel free to send your feedback to hello@auxilio.partners.