COPYRIGHT LICENSING
Because we do not print commercial octavos, reprint licenses for choral and instrumental sheet music automatically come with your music purchase. Simply specify the number you want to reprint for your needs. The cost is US$1.00 per copy. We depend completely on your honesty and integrity to pay for the correct number. You will then be sent a high-quality (1200 dpi) PDF file from which you can print out the music. Accompaniment and instrumental parts come free with the first 10 licenses. Visit any of our Sheet Music pages. Here are the license details:
- Each license you purchase is permanent - you only pay once! For example, if you order 20 licenses you are then authorized to make up to 20 copies of that music. You may always have up to 20 copies - if any get lost or damaged just reprint them. As long as the total on hand does not exceed the number of licenses you have purchased, you are within the law. What happens if your choir grows and you need, say, 10 more copies? Easy - purchase 10 more licenses at US$1.00 each! Then you have 30 permanent licenses. Instrumental and accomaniment parts are additional and do not use up one of your licenses.
- The licenses still apply if any music you purchase is later picked up by a commercial publisher. However, if that publisher has bought the copyright on that piece (which is standard practice) we will not be able to issue you any additional licenses after publication. Your old license will still be valid, however.
- Licenses are not transferable. This means that if you make your 20 licensed copies for your church choir and later move to a different church, you can't take them with you! Your new church has to buy new licenses. The one exception is if you bought them yourself individually . . . but then you cannot leave copies at your old church, or they will be in breach of copyright law! Again, we trust in your integrity!
Congregational and Event Licensing
Copyright Licensing for congregations and events has now been outsourced to OneLicense.net, an online church licensing company run under the auspices of GIA Publications in Chicago. This kind of licensing applies to melody and text only for worship aids, overheads, etc. If you do not already have an account with OneLicense.net, set up is easy and free, and the entire process is handled online. You will also have access to licensing for many other publishers and independent musicians like us - and we all appreciate your efforts to keep you music copying legal!
If you wish to either include and distribute one of our recorded tracks OR record and distribute your own cover version of one of our already recorded songs, you will need a Mechanical License. This license may be downloaded (as a PDF) here. We charge the statutory rates for this permission, as set out in US law. Note that this only applies to songs for which we own the copyright. For anything belonging to other parties contact the Harry Fox Agency in New York.
If you wish to record a song not already on one of our CDs, please E-MAIL.
Radio/TV Broadcast, Commercial Public Performance
Fergal King is a registered member of the Performing Rights Society (PRS). While we are in the process of transferring this membership to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Musicians), these two groups are affiliated and have mutual licensing agreements. Radio and TV stations should include any of our music on their returns. If you are hosting a broadcast Mass, Sevice or Concert, be sure to inform the producers that any of our songs must be reported in order to meet legal copyright requirements. Non-worship performance for profit is also covered by copyright law. Please contact PRS/ASCAP in advance for further info. If in doubt, E-MAIL us!
It is illegal to make copyrighted music available on the internet for any reason or by any method without permission. This includes any version or performance - even if you made it yourself. It also includes downloadable MP3s, streaming, P2P networking (peer-to-peer), website audio, podcasts, etc. We are currently on a learning curve regarding Digital Distribution licensing, so more information will be available in the future. In the meantime, if you have a question or want to use one of our songs on your website, E-MAIL us.
