Will you permit me to speak a truth that many worship leaders have never fully considered? The moment you type a lyric into ProPresenter, you have entered into a legal relationship with someone you have probably never met.
That someone is the songwriter. And they have rights.
Now, before you close this tab, stay with me. This is not a lecture. This is the kind of thing a good friend would lean over and tell you over coffee before you walked into a situation that could quietly hurt your church. So let us talk about it.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Copyright law exists for two reasons. First, it protects the integrity of a creative work—the creator’s right to say how their work is used. Second, it protects their ability to earn a living from it. When your congregation sings “Great Are You Lord” or “Goodness of God” on a Sunday morning, the writers of those songs are owed something. Royalties are not a technicality. They are how songwriters pay their mortgages and keep writing the songs your congregation loves.
Many churches operate under the assumption that because they are a non-profit religious organization, they are exempt. This is, unfortunately, not accurate.
There is a real legal exemption—in the US it falls under Section 110(3)—that allows a congregation to sing together in a physical worship service without a license. Your people can lift their voices and your musicians can play their instruments on Sunday morning, and no one is coming after you for that. Good news.
But the exemption stops there.
The moment you type those lyrics into a slide, print them in a bulletin, record your service, or stream it online—that exemption no longer applies. And that is where most churches quietly find themselves out of compliance without ever meaning to be.
The Licenses You Actually Need
The good news is that the worship world has made this remarkably manageable. You do not have to hire a lawyer. You just need to know which tools to use.
CCLI is your starting point. The base license covers lyric reproduction—projecting and printing words for your congregation. If you are streaming services online, you need to add a streaming license. If you use backing tracks in your stream, you need Streaming Plus. And if you are sharing rehearsal tracks with your team through a group chat or email, there is a rehearsal license for that too.
OneLicense covers a different catalog. If your church draws from more liturgical or traditional repertoire, or if you are in a denomination that leans toward those publishers, OneLicense is worth checking. Many churches need both CCLI and OneLicense to cover their full song list. A quick audit of your repertoire will tell you.
CCS fills in the gaps that the others do not cover. Their PERFORMmusic license handles music played outside of worship services—think youth events, coffee shops, concerts in the lobby. Their WORSHIPcast license covers streaming and reaches into secular catalog as well, which matters if you use popular music in your worship environment.
The multi-license approach sounds complex. It is actually just being thorough.
The Myths That Keep Getting Churches in Trouble
“We are non-profit, so fair use applies.” It does not. Not for entire songs used in a service.
“We are not charging for the stream, so it does not count.” Reproduction is reproduction whether or not money changes hands.
“YouTube’s licensing covers us.” YouTube has deals in place to prevent strikes on their platform, but those deals do not give your church reproduction rights or protect you legally from the copyright holders themselves.
And here is a subtle one. Some generous artists make their sheet music freely available. That is wonderful. But free sheet music does not automatically mean you have permission to project those lyrics. Read the fine print—or just get a license that covers it.
The Stuff That Actually Protects You
Once you have the right licenses, the work is not done. Most licenses require you to report the songs you use. This step is not optional and it is not just bureaucratic housekeeping. It is the mechanism by which the actual songwriters—not the publishers, the actual humans who wrote the songs—receive their money. If you have the license but never report, the songwriter never gets paid. So do the reporting.
Display the copyright line on every slide. Song title, writer, year, publisher, and your license number. It is a small thing and it matters.
Store your chord charts, PDFs, and audio files on licensed platforms. Planning Center and CCLI’s SongSelect are built for exactly this. A shared Google Drive folder or a group text is not a licensed platform, even if it feels convenient.
The Stakes Are Real
Let us be honest about what non-compliance can cost. Copyright infringement carries statutory damages that start at $750 per work and climb to $30,000—and to $150,000 for willful violation. That is per song. Beyond the financial exposure, there is the witness of your church. A congregation that preaches integrity and quietly skips out on paying the people who resource their worship has a credibility problem.
And practically speaking, your social media channels can be muted, restricted, or permanently removed for repeated copyright strikes. The online reach you have worked hard to build can disappear.
None of this has to happen. The licenses are not expensive relative to what they cover and what they protect.
Be a Good Steward of the Songs You Sing
You steward the worship environment with such care—the sound, the lighting, the flow of the service, the way a song lands in the room. The legal and administrative side of your song catalog deserves that same care.
The writers who gave you “What A Beautiful Name” and “The Blessing” and “Build My Life” are part of your worship community even if they will never set foot in your building. Honor them. Pay them. Report your songs.
And then lead your people with a clean conscience into the presence of God.
That freedom to worship without a knot in your stomach—well, that is a very good gift.
Recommended Resources: CCLI (ccli.com) / OneLicense (onelicense.net) / CCS (ccsonline.net)
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