CCLI Streaming Licence explained for UK churches

To stream a service with live worship on YouTube or Facebook, a UK church usually needs a CCLI Church Copyright Licence and a CCLI Streaming Licence. If you play recorded tracks in the stream, you also need the Streaming Plus Licence, which builds on the Streaming Licence and adds recorded music. If you stream to your own website, Zoom or Teams, you also need a PRS Digital Music Licence for Worship. Hymns from publishers outside CCLI may need OneLicense as well.

This post summarises what CCLI and the Methodist Church publish. It isn’t legal advice, so check the licence terms for your own church.

Why streaming needs its own licence

CCLI says an exemption exists for music played during acts of worship. The Methodist Church’s copyright guide for streamed worship explains that this exemption is a voluntary waiver by PRS for Music and PPL. They choose not to charge for music performed during in-person worship.

The waiver doesn’t extend to streaming or recording. The guide explains that streaming or uploading a service counts as a “communication to the public” under UK copyright law, so what is allowed in the room isn’t automatically allowed online.

Start with the Church Copyright Licence

The CCLI Streaming Licence extends the cover of the Church Copyright Licence to online worship. You need the Church Copyright Licence first. It covers reproducing song lyrics, such as projecting them on a screen or printing them in a service sheet. The streaming licences build on those rights when you put your services online.

Streaming Licence or Streaming Plus?

CCLI Streaming Licence. This covers live-streaming or uploading services that include worship songs and hymns performed live by your own musicians. CCLI says it covers more than 450,000 songs.

CCLI Streaming Plus Licence. This adds master recordings: artist tracks, backing tracks and multitracks from any authorised source. If your band plays along to multitracks, or you play a recorded song during the service, this is the one you need. The Methodist guide notes that coverage depends on participating labels, so not every recording is included.

Video is a separate matter. CCLI says Streaming Plus usually covers the audio of a recording only. Showing video content usually needs permission from the copyright owner. The exception is SongSelect Lyric Videos, which Streaming Plus holders can currently show during a live stream.

On price, CCLI’s streaming page says prices start at £31 a year for churches already licensed with CCLI, or £75 for an average church of 50 to 99 people.

What the licence lets you do

• Show lyrics. CCLI says lyrics can be embedded in the stream or shown in the background.
• Keep services online. Archived services can stay online for as long as you keep your CCLI Streaming Licence.
• Report automatically. Auto-reporting of the songs you stream can be switched on in a range of worship and presentation software.

CCLI recommends adding both licence numbers to the description when you start the stream or upload the service. Its example reads:

Used with permission. Church Copyright Licence Number: 12345 and CCLI Streaming Licence Number: 54321.

Even with a licence, some platforms may still show a copyright warning when music plays. CCLI says you’ll usually get an option to confirm you have permission. Our post on copyright warnings on church live streams explains why this happens and what to do.

Where you stream changes what you need

The Methodist guide sets out common scenarios.

YouTube or Facebook only. The Church Copyright Licence and Streaming Licence may be all you need. YouTube and Facebook have their own agreements with PRS.

Your own website, Zoom or Teams. These platforms don’t have that PRS arrangement, so you also need a PRS Digital Music Licence for Worship. The guide says the same applies to Vimeo and other platforms apart from YouTube and Facebook. CCLI’s page on music licences also says a PRS Digital Music Licence for Worship may be needed for music on your website. The guide says PRS doesn’t publish the price online, so you contact PRS for a quote.

A midweek group on Zoom with music. The guide says the PRS licence is needed even for a small prayer meeting if music is played.

A ticketed event. The guide says you can’t stream songs under these licences where there is a financial charge to attend the event, and that this includes donations. If you’re planning a paid conference or concert, check with CCLI before you stream it.

Hymns from publishers outside CCLI

Some hymns come from publishers that aren’t in the CCLI catalogue. The Methodist guide names Taizé, Iona, Oxford University Press, Kevin Mayhew and Stainer and Bell, among others. Streaming those needs a licence from OneLicense. If you aren’t sure, search for each song on your recent service sheets in CCLI’s SongSelect. The Methodist guide says that if a song still doesn’t appear after you expand the search, it is likely not covered.

Licences you may already hold

The PRS and PPL church licences cover playing music at in-person church activities, and the Church Video Licence covers showing film clips in services. The Methodist guide says none of these cover streaming. Having “a music licence” doesn’t mean your stream is covered.

Before your first stream

1. Check your Church Copyright Licence and Streaming Licence are current, and note both numbers.
2. Decide where you’ll stream. If it’s anywhere beyond YouTube and Facebook, look into the PRS Digital Music Licence for Worship.
3. List any backing tracks, multitracks or recorded songs. If there are any, you need Streaming Plus.
4. Check the song list for hymns from OneLicense publishers.
5. Add both licence numbers to the stream description.

The licences cover the music. Filming the people in the room raises separate questions, which we cover in consent, privacy and safeguarding for church live streams.

Booking a streamed service

Our help centre lists the platforms Aligned Vision can stream to: YouTube, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, TikTok Live, Twitch, LinkedIn and custom RTMP destinations. The Methodist guide says the Streaming Licence covers YouTube, Facebook and similar platforms where the copyright holder can place adverts on videos. If you want to add Instagram, TikTok or another destination, check with CCLI that your licences cover it.

Sort your licences before you book your first stream. Then read what you need to live stream a church service well and compare our live streaming packages. To book, get in touch. Artists whose songs are sung in church services may find PRS and PPL for gospel artists useful too.