If you’ve ever seen a message like this on YouTube or Facebook when trying to view a video that YOU created and uploaded, you know it’s not a good feeling.

You want your church’s videos to be easily shared with your friends, neighbors, community, and the world. But if you’ve created your video with music content that you don’t have the rights to use, you will likely run into this scenario.

There are multiple problems that this can set in motion, but putting those aside for a second, it’s important for churches to set the tone by making sure that they are in compliance with all copyright laws.

Copyright issues, especially concerning music, can be extremely confusing, and researching it can be just as confusing, with seemingly contradictory information showing up all the time. Many times people think that if they have paid for music in any way, that they are free to use it as they wish. This is rarely the case; most often, they are paying to listen to the music for their personal use, and virtually ANY other use is not allowed.*

Rather than risk having your videos removed and treading in murky legal waters, a much better choice is “royalty-free” music. Royalty-free music is not “free” to obtain, but it is “free” of the royalty and license issues that one would normally have to work through in order to use copyrighted music. Essentially, a simple license is purchased that allows the purchaser to use the music for many different purposes. The license that comes with a Missional Score membership will cover most of the uses that churches have (playing videos in services, pre-service announcements, on lobby screens, on social media, etc.).

With royalty-free music from Missional Score, you can avoid not just the frustration of having your video removed, but also the potential restrictions on your account or even legal trouble. Missional Score’s website has been created to specifically meet the music needs of your church’s video production team, with collections for adults, students, and kids, and our music has been specifically created for the types of videos that churches create.

And at a yearly membership fee of only $99, we don’t think you will find a better deal anywhere! Preview any of our tracks fully and if you decide Missional Score would be a benefit to your church, sign up and start downloading tracks within minutes.

Carry on.

Kerry off.

Kerry Cox

*No part of this article constitutes legal advice. Please contact a music/entertainment lawyer for specific advice.