Concerns About Copyright

Music for worship, like any other music, is copyrighted material and must be used with the proper consent of the composer and text-writer. This article answers many of the questions concerning the copyright law. Those of us who are concerned about the function and use of music in the life of a church need a basic understanding of the copyright if we are to do our job properly. The responsibility for the selection of hymns, anthems, and the other music used in public worship goes beyond that simple act. As worship leaders we must authorize or provide the books or the sheets from which the song is sung. Many honest, God-fearing people presume that the copyright law is so unfathomable that they close their eyes on the problem. After all, they reason, they work twelve hours a day, seven days a week, and still cannot tend to all the problems that need their attention. If someone in the parish runs off a few copies of a hymn they wish to sing on Sunday-why not? If the soloist arrives wit…