http://www.ccli.com

I recently received my semi annual CCLI check and report in the mail. It says that my song "Praise Awaits You" is currently the most popular of my songs as reported by churches in North America.

Ever notice the CCLI number on the bottom of the monthly WorshipIdeas chord chart? What exactly is CCLI and why do you need it? Here's how it works for worship leaders and songwriters.

At least once a day I'll get some stray email asking me for the words to (insert current popular praise song,) as if I'm some Internet archive of all praise song lyrics.

I've written before about the free praise and worship websites with lyrics and chord charts, how they're illegal, and how the music industry is shutting them down. It's also illegal for churches to use these lyrics in their bulletins or on screen without paying a royalty.

That's where CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing) comes in. For a fee, churches can have permission to use lyrics in their worship. For the average sized church of up to 199 people the fee ranges between $49 - $165. Take a look at the benefits and price ranges here:

http://www.ccli.com/Visitors/ChurchCopyright.cfm

Next, CCLI developed "SongSelect Basic" - THE online database of thousands of praise and worship lyrics. The annual fee for this additional service is $39. I access this every week as I prepare our PowerPoint lyrics - this resource not only has the lyrics but also the composer and copyright info.

Now CCLI has just come out with their "SongSelect Advanced," which includes the basic database plus downloadable lead sheets for top praise songs. It's $129 per year. Check out the online demo for this new service here:

http://www.ccli.com/songselectdemo

Once signed up to CCLI, the church will need to keep a weekly record of which praise songs they've used. Royalties from license fees are distributed to the song composers and publishers based upon this song survey.

It's a great way to bypass the music industry for praise and worship songwriters. I'm delighted to have the CCLI royalty check come directly to me for my self-published songs. Conversely, I've yet to receive my CCLI cut from a major publisher to whom I idiotically signed over one of my songs - and I know this song has been used in churches for four years.

While most Christian songwriters won't be getting rich from CCLI, I'm sure those who have songs in the top 5000 now have a way to help put their kids through college!

CCLI works for everyone. They're prompt and professional, and anytime I've called for help they've been more than gracious.

>Praise and worship songwriters, your first step is to register your songs with CCLI. Your second step is to register with the US Copyright Office - CCLI even has directions on how to do that:

How to register your songs with CCLI:
http://www.ccli.com/CopyrightAdmin/Index.cfm

CCLI's tips on registering with the US Copyright Office:
http://www.ccli.com/CopyrightAdmin/SongCopyrights.cfm

>Churches, sign up with CCLI to legally use song lyrics in your bulletins and worship projection. It will make your life easier!

©2003 WorshipIdeas.com