One License takes over from Calamus

[alan29]

Easier to stick to hymn books.

[mcb]

The fee needs to be viewed in perspective. Yes, it is trebling. But it's still very low - about £3 per week in the case quoted.

Actually I don't think it is trebling. I think Nick was looking at the US rates, in dollars and then mentally converting to pounds (Baty, pers. comm. ) If you go here and make sure it's showing UK at the top of the page (there's a drop down menu to set it), the UK prices show, and the rate for a congregation of up to 100 is £105 per year. I think that's still a little over double what is was with Calamus, but I'd second justMary's view that this isn't extortionate.

[mcb]

Easier to stick to hymn books.

Terrible idea, IMHO.

[High Peak]

Easier to stick to hymn books.

Easier, but very limiting. I am presently pushing for a switch from hymnals.

[Nick Baty]

Nick - did you receive an announcement from Decani about this?

Yes, I received a letter last weekend.

[Nick Baty]

Easier to stick to hymn books.

That would seriously limit the repertoire. And you'd have to announce everything, telling people which verses to sing.

[Nick Baty]

Actually I don't think it is trebling. I think Nick was looking at the US rates, in dollars and then mentally converting to pounds

Not mentally – I'm not that bright – but I was looking at the wrong figure. Yes, it's double the cost but, amazingly, the PP said, "Oh, it's only a couple of quid a week."

[Nick Baty]

Several weeks on, I'm getting to grips with One License. As a parish musician, I would say it's much easier to report usage as this can be done online on a weekly basis. Yes, the cost is going up – from £45 to £105, which is quite a hike for us. However, I'm reliably informed that part of the reason for this is that Calamus hasn't raised its prices for a while.

There's a small problem around the billing period: One License start on 01 July but our licence with Calamus runs up to the end of August. Hopefully a couple of emails will sort this.

As a (very small) publisher, it was easy to upload titles: You just paste them into a predefined spreadsheet and then upload in one go.

I believe Southern Comfort knows a little more about One License. Perhaps he could update us.

[VML]

My parish has just received an invoice from CCLI for £566.71 for our annual licence.
This would cover:
Church copyright licence £222
Music Reproduction Licence £111
PPL Church Licence £117.49
PRS for Music, Church Licence. £116.22

I know we now project our music on screens, and a certain amount of music used is the Christian Worship Song genre, but this seems excessive.
Any ideas?

[Nick Baty]

Do you really need PPL and PRS?

[VML]

I've been looking for an answer. I don't think we do, especially as PPL say they don't charge for funerals and weddings. And anyway their annual fee is lower than that charged for going through CCLI. I think the matter arrises when we have fundraiser concerts by a local Steiner school for Chernobyl Children's Holiday Assoc. We did also have one 'commercial' concert 3 years ago, as the singer in question charged for tickets, used film and backing tracks and was quite prominent though she had been to 'our' high school. That is all we have had in that line.

I think we can bring it down considerably. This was thrown at me yesterday afternoon and I only looked at it tonight.
The only recorded music we use is when demanded for weddings and funerals and occasionally during penitential services.

[Nick Baty]

I'd be tempted to look at the fund-raisers separately. If it's a charitable event, most copyright holders will grant permission gratis. Friend of mine recently had a very nice letter from Paul McCartney, giving permission for some of his stuff to be performed and recorded by a Singing For The Brain group.

[VML]

Exactly. Thanks Nick, all very helpful.
The concerts have tended to be classical. But yes, asking directly is a good plan.

[Southern Comfort]

Anyone having problems with OneLicense reporting may be interested in the following Facebook thread, where Paul Inwood invites contributions towards a discussion he is having with the company.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/300911236958173/

[Nick Baty]

Thanks for the pointer, SC. An interesting thread which affects many of us in the UK.