How do you, as a church musician, provide your church with good quality music (especially newer contemporary praise and worship choruses) with a limited budget and no time for checking to see if you can get copyright permission to use the music?

CCLI is a great resource for the church that wants access to a wide range of music (over 150,000 selections) while doing everything legally to satisfy copyright laws.

According to their website, Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) was established in 1988 to provide churches with simple, affordable solutions to complex copyright issues. CCLI helps churches maintain their integrity and avoid costly lawsuits, while also giving churches the freedom to worship expressively and spontaneously.

Basically, through CCLI, your church can get copyright and LEGAL access to song sheets (featuring lyrics, samples and transposible lead sheets, chord sheets and hymn/vocal sheets),and professional-edited movie clips.

A CCLI license gives your church access to over 150,000 worship songs, which can be used for congregational singing.

The cost is based on the size of your church’s weekly attendance. CLICK HERE to view a chart with costs. For example, a church with a weekly attendance of 175 would pay $170.00 per year.

With a CCLI license, you can:

1. Print songs, hymns and lyrics in bulletins, programs, liturgies and songsheets for use in congregational singing.
2. Create your own customized songbooks or hymnals for use in congregational singing.
3. Create overhead transparencies, slides or use any other format whereby song lyrics are visually projected (such as computer graphics and projection) for use in congregational singing.
4. Arrange, print and copy your own arrangements (vocal and instrumental) of songs used for congregational singing, where no published version is available.
5. Record your worship services (audio or video) provided you only record live music. Accompaniment tracks cannot be reproduced. You may charge up to $4 each for audiocassette tapes and CDs, and $12 each for videotapes and DVDs.

SongSelect is an optional add-on to the CCLI license, at an additional cost ranging from $44 to $179 (based on how many of the features you wish).

SongSelect provides customized lead sheets, chord sheets, and vocal/hymn sheets, which can be customized and printed in any key you wish. CLICK HERE to view the SongSelect demo on the CCLI website.

You can also purchase a CVLI (Church Video Licensing International) license which will allow your church to show videos and DVDs in a public setting.

The ScreenVue license allows your church to show professionally-edited clips from major motion pictures as a sermon illustration. There are two plans available, for either $99 or $149.

CCLI is the essential license to have to stay legal and ethical in your music ministry!