Hey, turn that music down!
A local attornery is voicing concern over the legality of music that’s being livestreamed over worship services.
Churches on Easter will make sure their lilies are in view and that their musicians and minister are standing the appropriate six feet apart as they livestream their worship. But will they have the correct licenses to legally broadcast the music?
Probably not.
Unless religious organizations have a streaming or “synchronization” license to use the copyrighted music for livestreams and recordings, they may be violating the U.S. Copyright Act, said Jane Tucker, an attorney with Vandeventer Black, a business and litigation law firm based in Norfolk.
Tucker said she looked at this issue for her own church and thought other religious organizations should be aware of it as well.
Most places of worship have closed their buildings during the coronavirus pandemic and are streaming their services via Facebook, their websites, or recording services to be played on-demand.
The federal law does allow congregations to use copyrighted musical works without the author’s permission during a religious service. But that does not extend to livestreaming or recording for later use.
“The exemption only applies to music performed during the course of a service at a place of worship, during the actual church service where people are present and religious services are conducted,” said Tucker, who specializes in intellectual property law.
While Tucker hasn’t seen a case where an author has taken a church to task, there is always a possibility. The penalties for copyright infringement are not cheap, either.
Copyright owners who timely register their works are entitled to recover statutory damages ranging from $750 to $30,000 per work, or up to $150,000 per work for instances of willful infringement. Copyright owners who have not registered their works are still entitled to compensation upon proof of damages.
Saying that you didn’t intend to infringe on a musician’s rights isn’t a defense, either.
Most churches, Tucker said, may already have a license that allows them to use certain music outside of the church service itself. They should contact the licensing company they work with to make sure the license includes a streaming license.