Social Media and Live Streaming Policy

 

YouTube, Vimeo, Social Media:

If you are monetizing your posted video (i.e. collecting ad revenue), then a Monetized Video License is required, in order for us to collect a share of the revenue and share it with the composer/arranger/lyricist. 

If you are requiring payment to access your video (pay-per-view), then a Performance/Streaming License is required. 

If your posted recording is not monetized for ad revenue, and can be viewed for free, we do not require permission or a license. (This policy differs from many other publishers; but we want to encourage sharing your performances!) We simply require that you list the Title, Composer/Arranger, Lyricist (if living/name printed on front of choral score) and Publisher as clearly as possible – preferably in the title of the video, and also in the description and/or in the video itself – so that others can find the print music.

Some (not all) of our music is registered in YouTube's Content ID system, managed by our album distributor CD Baby. If you post a video of our music and "CD Baby" makes a copyright claim on the monetization for it, there's no need to dispute the claim; this actually routes some of the ad revenue back to us, instead of just going into an unclaimed pool at YouTube, and we're grateful!

Facebook Live, etc:

Sharing brief excerpts of performances, impromptu sharing of rehearsals, etc., on social media, even if Live, do not require permission or license from us; again, please just clearly list title/composer/publisher of the work so that you’re helping “advertise” the piece with us. If you share/stream a performance of an entire piece, or an entire concert, Live, this falls under Live Streaming; please see the Live Streaming policy below.

(Reminder: these policies are for works published by Beckenhorst Press or The Music of Dan Forrest. Other publishers may require permission/licensing for situations that we have chosen not to.) 

Live Streaming/Webcasting worship services:

We recommend the Streaming License Add-On from CCLI.com or OneLicense.net, whichever company you already use for licensing music in your worship services. Either of these will cover a variety of streaming usages for virtually all of the music in all of your worship services for a year, for a reasonable price. (This is a much better option than trying to license every piece individually through its publisher.) Please be sure to report your performances of our music (whether live in person, or streamed) on your regular surveys, so that we can capture revenue for the composer and publisher. 
Note: Technically, video streaming requires two aspects to be licensed: the public performance of the music/audio, and the synchronization to video. The performance aspect, when streamed through major streaming platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is already covered by agreements between ASCAP and these platforms for the musical content itself- a license from the publisher is not needed for this aspect.* However, the video sync aspect does require a sync license from the publisher; this aspect is what most publishers use CCLI or One License streaming add-ons to cover. These streaming license add-ons are also required for other aspects, such as showing lyrics in your video stream. 
Some publishers also require an additional fee if the streamed video is left posted after the live stream, on any platform; see the top of this page for our specific policy on when we require a Monetized Video License or a Performance/Streaming License.

Live Streaming/Webcasting concerts:

For College/University Livestreams, please use ASCAP's Recital License, and report our performed repertoire in your survey. 

For K-12 School Livestreams, we recommend School Music License. These ensembles typically do not have ASCAP licenses since they're exempt from live performance royalty requirements. Technically, the public performance aspect of live-streamed music by any choir on a major streaming platform (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is already covered by agreements between ASCAP and these platforms for the musical content itself.* However, video streaming also requires a sync license, which the publisher controls; many publishers use School License as a third-party client for choirs to handle this sync licensing aspect for them, as well as other types of usage that require licensing (i.e. showing lyrics, streaming directly on their own website, or through platforms that may not be covered by existing agreements with PROs, and more). 
We have chosen not to charge a fee for leaving videos posted after the live stream, if not monetized; if you plan to leave your video posted after the livestream and monetize it, a Monetized Video License is required. (See above).

For Community Choirs, Professional Choirs, and others: streams on major live-streaming platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) are already covered by existing agreements between ASCAP and these platforms for the content itself (not the performers), so your livestreams of our music are technically covered by ASCAP whether your performing ensemble has an ASCAP license or not. This differs from live performance, where the performing ensemble must have their own license. 
We have chosen not to charge a fee for leaving videos posted after the live stream, if not monetized; if you plan to leave your video posted after the livestream and monetize it, a Monetized Video License is required. (See above).

*Note: Unfortunately, the ability to identify the performed repertoire in a streamed video on YouTube, Facebook, etc, is only available to major performing artists and labels, or popular music, not classical choral publishers. Classical choral publishers are not able to capture any revenue from this; the revenue from live streams of our music on these platforms goes into a pool of unidentified performances that gets split amongst bigger names. This is regrettable, but there's nothing to be done about it, currently. But when universities report recitals completely to ASCAP, or schools or churches use CCLI or One License or School Music License streaming licenses, they generate revenue that supports the composer and publisher.

Lyric Videos: 

If you wish to play an official lyric video from Beckenhorst or The Music of Dan Forrest as part of a public concert or service, please contact us for current details on licensing. Some of our videos are available for purchase- check the main choral product page for a link to a video.

Virtual Choirs: 

These are handled like any other performance: if streamed for free, the above policies apply. (If made available for download, or if the stream is monetized in any way, then licenses may required. See details on our main Licensing page under "Online".) Please report your Virtual Choir post as a streamed performance on your regular surveys from CCLI or OneLicense.net (for worship service use) or from ASCAP (for concert use).  

Back to the main Licensing page.