Over the last few years, the need for organizations to have online licensing permissions has increased significantly. In fact, 64% of our License Holders currently hold one of our annual term Podcast / Streaming Licenses to cover the copyrighted titles from our Member Publishers in their online worship services. Whether your organization already holds one of these licenses or you are still exploring the ways that offering online worship services could better connect you with your congregation, read on for creative ways to utilize our Podcast / Streaming License permissions. 

ONE LICENSE offers two different types of Podcast / Streaming Licenses:

  1. The Podcast / Streaming License add-on, which is bundled with the Annual Reprint License
  2. The Limited Podcast / Streaming License

Both Podcast / Streaming options cover self-made recordings or live worship services that contain approved copyrighted titles from our Member Publishers. These services can be live streamed or stored on any internet platform, including YouTube, Facebook, StreamSpot, your organization’s website, Zoom, etc. No use of commercial masters, other people’s YouTube videos, or publisher-owned recordings is covered. Videos may remain accessible on those online platforms for as long as the license is in force. 

Most, but not all, of our Member Publishers participate in the ONE LICENSE Podcast / Streaming license option. Take a look at our Member Publisher page to determine whether your favorite Member Publishers participate. Keep in mind that just because a Member Publisher participates in the Podcast / Streaming License does not mean every title in their catalog will be covered for Podcast / Streaming use. 

When searching for titles, pay attention to the Permissions Icons to the right of each entry in our database:

Icon legend

  1. The first icon represents our Reprint Licenses. 
  2. The second icon represents our Podcast / Streaming Licenses. 
  3. The third and fourth icons represent our Practice-Track Licenses. 
  • The music notes (third icon) represent non-commercial Practice-Tracks (self-made). 
  • The headphones (fourth icon) represents commercial Practice-Tracks (professionally recorded and distributed / not self-made). 

If you hover your mouse over the icon, the website will tell you what each icon means. 

When an icon is dark, it means the permissions for that usage type are approved. When the icon is light, it means those permissions are not covered. 

For example, this title (above) would not be approved for Podcast / Streaming permissions, but is approved for Reprint Licenses and Practice-Track Licenses. 

For this second example (above), this title is approved for use with Reprint Licenses and Podcast / Streaming permissions, but is not approved for either commercial nor non-commercial Practice-Track License use.  

The Limited Podcast / Streaming License gives you permission to post your worship services online, but not to provide text or melody lines either on screen or in an additional resource (e.g., printed worship aid, projection screen, PDF download, etc.). The Limited Podcast / Streaming License is specifically designed for organizations that do not post or display lyrics or melody lines, or provide worship aids for their congregation. 

One of the most popular ways our License Holders utilize their Limited Podcast / Streaming License is to create virtual choir videos for use within their worship services. Virtual choir videos can be a wonderful way to keep your choir singing together, even when everyone is unable to gather in person. Virtual choirs involve a significant amount of preparation and various levels of copyright licensing, so be sure to take a look at our Virtual Choir blog post to better understand the process. 

The Limited Podcast / Streaming License works especially well for organizations that are live streaming or posting pre-recorded videos of their worship services and are not reprinting congregational music (text and / or tune) in a worship aid, on a projection screen, or in the video itself. A helpful way to think about the Limited Podcast / Streaming License is that it is designed to cover the audio of approved copyrighted titles from ONE LICENSE Member Publishers that are being live streamed or pre-recorded by your organization’s musicians or members. 

The Annual Reprint + Podcast / Streaming License Bundle, on the other hand, includes all of those rights as well as the right to display lyrics or melody lines of covered music, either within the video itself, in a separate worship aid, on a projection screen, or in a password-protected PDF download. This option is best for organizations that want to add text or melody lines to their online services, or provide a separate worship aid for their congregations. With the bundle option, you can also add the text and / or melody line from approved congregational titles from our Member Publishers directly into your online worship videos. You may also choose to provide a worship aid, or even a protected PDF that would be downloadable by those worshiping in person or following along online.  

The reporting process for the Podcast / Streaming Licenses varies slightly from reporting for the Annual Reprint License. Under the Annual Reprint License, you are only required to report what you reprint  for the congregation. Under both of the Podcast / Streaming Licenses, you need to report all the music you are using in a service, not just music for the congregation.

Some examples of what to report, if they are approved for Podcast / Streaming usage, include:

  • A prelude piece performed by an instrumentalist
  • The choral anthem after communion
  • The organ postlude
  • A song included or sung by the pastor during the sermon / reflection
  • The copyrighted arrangement of an instrumental part to a public domain piece

These reports allow ONE LICENSE to distribute royalties to the composers, authors, and publishers of those works. Note that these licenses are intended to cover sacred music. Certain liturgical content, including Scripture readings, will require permission directly from the copyright holder of that material.

To help ensure your organization does not have videos removed or incur “strikes” on your online accounts, it’s important to correctly display your permissions. As mentioned in our blog post Best Practices for Posting Your Services to Social Media, you need to display your copyright information for every piece used in the service as well as your license attribution line, which should state: “Reprinted / podcast / streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #________. All rights reserved.” If you are concerned about claims and strikes being placed on your social media accounts, take a look at this helpful resource: Managing YouTube Claims. 

No matter how your organization is worshiping, we have licensing to fit your needs. Have questions or concerns about which license is the right fit for you? Reach out to our team at info@onelicense.net. 

Photo used with permission from Canva.com.