Join me in welcoming the former General Manager of ONE LICENSE, Brenna C. Horn-Cronin, back to the blog. In this conversation, Katie and Brenna will be discussing School Music License, a new service from GIA Publications, Inc., that provides music licensing coverage for over 10 million songs from nearly 8,000 Member Publishers like Disney, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, and more! Be sure to check out the promo code at the end.

Katie: Welcome back to the ONE LICENSE blog, Brenna! We’re glad to have you. 

Brenna: I’m thrilled to be here! 

K: The last time our License Holders heard from you was June 2023 when you formally transitioned out of your role as General Manager of ONE LICENSE to begin building a new licensing service for schools. Tell us about what you have been up to. 

B: It has been a really exciting 18 months building this new service, and I’m excited to finally share it with our ONE LICENSE community. In September 2023, we launched our new licensing platform designed for US-based K-12 schools — School Music License. 

School Music License is a revolutionary, easy-to-use online service to obtain the right to stream, post pre-recorded videos, and archive videos of your school’s live performances that use copyrighted music for one affordable annual fee! Share school concert performances, marching band performances, recitals, pep rallies, glee club concerts, and more with cleared permissions on any of the leading streaming platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, your school’s own website, and more). Even print song lyrics in a school program. 

K: That’s really exciting! It sounds like School Music License is similar to the way ONE LICENSE works. Is that true? 

B: School Music License eliminates the frustration teachers and educational institutions experience when they try to “do the right thing” to obtain authorization from copyright owners for their use of copyrighted music. That mission is absolutely in line with the service ONE LICENSE provides. We aim to make the process of securing music copyright permissions easier, eliminating the need to contact each individual copyright holder for permission to include their works in a video stream.

K: What are some examples of when a school would have a ONE LICENSE account or a School Music License account? Is it possible that a school would need both? 

B: That’s the number one question and exactly why we created this infographic. Take a look! 

B: Imagine School Music License as the secular version of ONE LICENSE, allowing coverage for publishers like Disney, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Sony Music Publishing, Kobalt, and BMG. If you are a school that uses both sacred music in your worship services and secular music in events like band concerts, pep rallies, and sporting events, you can benefit from using both services to be copyright compliant. 

K: Wow! What a fantastic solution, especially for High Schools that have a wide range of activities and events. 

B: I completely agree. Let’s use a Catholic High School as an example. 

St. Cecilia Catholic High School serves students in grades 9-12. Their Director of Music serves in a wide variety of roles, including Music Director for their Wednesday morning all-school masses and Choir Director for the Freshman Choir, the Varsity Choir, and the Chamber Choir. They also support the Student Activities Coordinator with their Fall Variety Show and Spring Talent Show. 

The High School already has their own ONE LICENSE account, which covers their Wednesday morning masses and the sacred music used in student assemblies, small group gatherings after school, and at the year-end Baccalaureate Mass. Up to this point, they have secured secular music licensing song by song for their choir concerts, jazz recitals, orchestra performances, talent shows, and variety shows. Sometimes, those costs were prohibitive or the publisher was not able to reply to their request in time (not to mention the additional administrative labor and time to contact the copyright holders). 

Fear of not being copyright compliant has prevented the school from showcasing their performances online, and they do not stream events on the school’s website or YouTube channel. This Choir Director is incredibly proud of their students’ achievements and wishes there was a way to share it with the students’ families and broader community. We believe it should be easy to share performances while feeling secure that you have the permissions you need. School Music License was created to provide that reliability, and we are proud to be a bridge between schools and the music community.

With the support of School Music License, St. Cecilia’s can now stream their performances worry free using any of the 10 million songs included on our service. Using the same equitable pricing mission that ONE LICENSE License Holders are used to, School Music License pricing is based on grade levels served and student enrollment. And just like the ONE LICENSE service, License Holders can use as much music as they want throughout the year for that one price. No more reaching out to individual copyright holders for individual permissions – it’s a win win! 

K: If a school feels like this service might be a good resource for them, who should they contact? 

B: Our friendly and knowledgeable License Holder Support Team is here to help! You can reach us at info@schoolmusiclicense.com. We are also very happy to extend a promo code for our friends at ONE LICENSE. Code OL10 can be used at checkout for 10% off your first purchase.

Interested in a District / Group License to cover your entire school district? Our team can help! Additional discounts available. 

K: Brenna, thank you for chatting with me today. I know that this service is going to be a huge help for many of the schools we work with. Before you go, can you share some of the titles that our users might recognize? 

B: Absolutely! Choir Directors in particular would recognize the Walton and GIA catalogs on our service, but we cover band and orchestra music as well. Some well-known and beloved titles include: 

Band Titles: 

  1. First Suite for Band by Robert Jager (Neil A. Kjos Music Company)
  2. Scenes from The Louvre by Norman Dello Joio (Edward B. Marks Music Company) 
  3. Suite Française by Darius Milhaud (Debmar Publishing Company, Inc.)
  4. Flourish for Wind Band by Ralph Vaughan Williams (Oxford University Press)
  5. The Water Is Wide by Timothy Broege (Neil A. Kjos Music Company) 
  6. Medley from Back to the Future, arr. Michael Sweeney (Music Corporation of America)
  7. Symphonic Festival by Robert W. Smith (Belwin Music Publishing Corp.)
  8. March of the Belgian Paratroopers by Pierre Leemans (Universal-Duchess Music Corporation) 
  9. Voyages on a Rowing Song by William Himes (Neil A. Kjos Music Company)
  10. Thunder Hill Overture by Anne McGinty (Queenwood)

Orchestra Titles: 

  1. Celebration by Richard Meyer (Alfred Publishing Company, Inc.) 
  2. Bohemian Stomp, arr. Sandra Dackow (Alfred Publishing Company, Inc.) 
  3. Festival Prelude by Brian Balmages (Belwin Music Publishing Corp.) 
  4. Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson (Woodbury Music Company) 
  5. Fantasia for Strings by Elliot Del Borgo (Beam Me Up Music)
  6. Mystic Rhapsody by Susan H. Day (Wingert Jones Music Inc.)
  7. Gargoyles by Doug Spata (Alfred Publishing Company, Inc.)
  8. Appalachian Morning, arr. Robert Sheldon (Belwin Music Publishing Corp.)
  9. Engines of Resistance by Larry Clark (Alfred Publishing Company, Inc.)
  10. A Matador’s Tale by Mark Lortz (Wingert Jones Music Inc.) 

Choral Titles from our friends at Walton Music: 

  1. Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo
  2. Come, Travel with Me by Scott Farthing
  3. Where the Light Begins by Susan LaBarr
  4. The Ground by Ola Gjeilo
  5. Tshotsholoza, arr. Jeffery Ames
  6. Modimo, arr. Michael Barrett
  7. Sleep by Eric Whitacre
  8. Lift Every Voice and Sing, arr. Roland Carter
  9. Can We Sing the Darkness to Light? by Kyle Pederson
  10. Arirang, arr. Hyo-Won Woo

Thanks so much for having me, Katie. We really believe this service is a game changer, and I know that many schools who already have a ONE LICENSE account will find the platform to be user friendly. ONE LICENSE is in good hands with your leadership!

Author’s Note: Want to learn more about the School Music License service? Take a look at this overview video!

Photo and graphics copyrighted by School Music License, used with permission.

Brenna C. Horn-Cronin serves as Executive General Manager of School Music License. Combining her passions for arts management, music, hospitality, and education, she leads School Music License and helps thousands of schools make the most of their arts and athletics programs. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her wife and family and is a proud alumna of Northwestern University (MSLCE, Summa Cum Laude) and Western Michigan University (BA).