· F R E E · P R A I S E ·
Free Praise License
The musical notation and lyrics of works released under the terms of
the Free Praise License may be freely reproduced or transmitted in any
written or digital format for all purposes of religious worship, provided that:
- attribution to the composer always accompanies any reproduction of lyrics or music;
- the lyrics are not altered or added to in any way;
- no fee beyond the cost of media or transmission is charged for reproduction in any form.
This license does NOT
comprise permission to publish the musical works for sale, singly or in
a songbook or compilation in any format. The right to license
commercial performances and/or to make recordings for commercial sale
is retained by the composer and/or the composers publisher and/or the
composers performance rights organization. This license does NOT supercede or replace the rights of the composer(s) under United States Copyright statutes.
What Does This Mean?
To cut through the "legalese", you may . . .
- photocopy the lyrics or scores to give to choir or congregation members, musicians, etc.
- include the music or words in your bulletins, overheads, or PowerPoint presentations.
- give away the .PDF or MIDI files on disk, web sites, e-mail attachments, etc.
. . . as long as
the name and copyright information is always included. Also, please
include the title page with the text of the Free Praise License with
any copy of the full score you print, file, or give away.
. . . But you may not . . .
- publish them for sale in a songbook
- Sell recordings of them
- change or add to the words
- charge any more money than the cost of the photocopy, the disk, or the postage if you should give or mail a copy to somebody
. . . without specific, documented permission of the composer or publisher listed in the copyright notice.
Usually musicians are happy to work something out with you .... but you must ask - it's the law.