New York, NY, October 2, 2006 - The American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP), representing over 250,000 music creators and copyright owners, and the Church Copyright Administration (CCA), representing churches across the United States, today announced that they have entered into a music licensing agreement that provides a simple solution for churches and ministry activities to comply with the copyright law, while recognizing the rights of ASCAP's composers, lyricists and publishers.
Under the agreement, CCA will host a Church Song Internet License website interface and song database on its website (www.churchca.com) where CCA members can qualify for an ASCAP license by completing a short application. CCA will collect fees, submit reports and remit payment to ASCAP on behalf of qualifying organizations.
"We are pleased to work with CCA to offer churches access to ASCAP's vast repertory of over eight million works," said ASCAP Senior Vice President, Enterprises Group Chris Amenita. "The new agreement enables CCA members to comply with copyright law, and ASCAP's writers and publishers can look forward to being compensated for online performances of their music in this arena."
CCA President Susan Fontaine Godwin, a 22-year veteran in Christian music publishing and church copyright administration said, "We greatly appreciate ASCAP's pioneering efforts and commitment to help churches be copyright compliant by streamlining Internet song licensing. We are thrilled to offer churches a one-stop WorshipCast License to simplify legal use of ASCAP songs on their websites," she continued. "Churches want to do the right thing by honoring songwriters and publishers, and now there's a simple and accessible way to do it."
ASCAP is home to many of Christian music's top stars and celebrates their achievements each year at a gala event held in Nashville, TN. Among the 2006 honorees were: Songwriter of the Year Jeremy Camp, Publisher of the Year EMI CMG Publishing, Mercy Me, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Jaci Velasquez, Matthew West, Natalie Grant, Newsboys, Bebo Norman, Todd Agnew, Sonicflood, David Crowder, Barlowgirl, Mark Schultz, Bethany Dillon and The Afters. Special awards included the ASCAP Crescendo Award to one of CCM's most treasured early pioneers, the late Keith Green, and the ASCAP Impact Award to Jon Foreman whose band, Switchfoot, is having a significant impact on mainstream rock music.
Other legacy artists included in ASCAP Membership are The Gaithers, Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch, Michael W. Smith, Rich Mullins and Dottie Rambo.
About CCA
A leader in Christian copyright clearances for six years, CCA offers administration, consultation and education to a client base which includes Saddleback Church, Willow Creek Church, Fellowship Grapevine Church, as well as Christian ministries and businesses like International Mission Board, Integrity Publishing and Sermonspice. Clients obtain clearances for copyright uses not covered by other industry licenses through CCA's exclusive online CopyrightSolver�, streamlining and automating the process while giving clients personal control and immediate information about their project orders. Full Service and Per Project administration plans, plus personal On-Site Consultation, are CCA services designed to meet the needs of individual clients. Further information is available at www.churchca.com.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 250,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP also represents the repertories created by the international affiliates of 70 foreign performing rights organizations. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
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