Broadcasting a taped worship service

[vbaqueen]

What is the name of your state? Indiana
We tape our Sunday morning services and then send the tape to a local station to be broadcasted on Sunday morning. What laws do I need to be aware of in the area of copyrighted music?

 

[hexeliebe]

If you are a 'new-age' church that plays standard (top-40 or christian) music, then you need to be paying ascap and bmi fees for the playing of the music. If you play public-domain hymnals there is usually no fee for these.

These rules apply whether you play the music in church or as a broadcast.

 

[vbaqueen]

That is great to hear. I was concerned about the actual broadcast. I know they said that a live feed was ok but they hadn't covered a later broadcast of the service. Thank you for your prompt reply

 

[hexeliebe]

glad to help. I used to own a small radio station and had three such services on Sunday mornings. But I wouldn't touch a fourth because they could not assure me the music they played was licensed.

Most stations have coverage licenses that cover all music they play, but your tape is of a live performance so you need to make sure you cover the license fees yourself. The broadcast is considered a second performance and usually covered by the radio station's license.