Ethical Concerns of OCP (Respond & Acclaim)
  • RevAMG
    Posts: 162
    I once needed a R&A psalm for a saint's feast day (one of the ones that when it falls on a Sunday in Ordinary Time, it takes precedence). I contacted OCP for the music (it wasn't in their online catalog) and they told me to just use it out of an old R&A book. They told me they know that people keep them and told me they couldn't provide the music otherwise.
    Thanked by 4Elmar CHGiffen John_F_Church LauraKaz
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    With most copyrighted works, performing the work in public requires a license, so OCP can make the permission-to-perform limited if they want.

    But it seems that there is an exemption in US law for religious services.

    It's described here:
    https://christiancopyrightsolutions.com/blog/the-religious-service-exemption-explained/

    Note: this doesn't apply to concerts or streaming, and it doesn't imply a right to make copies or projections. Gosh, it might not even cover rehearsals if they are conducted in public!

    Of course, I'm not a lawyer, so don't rely on my opinion.
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Chonak,

    Is live streaming a religious service treated as a live-stream or a religious service?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    See the linked web page for some discussion of streaming.
    Thanked by 1Chris Garton-Zavesky
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Streaming live might be covered, but stored for review clearly is not.

    This seems the best reason I can think of to use only music which is (already) in the public domain.

    This hurts currently composing musicians, though, even if the copyright is personally owned (rather than owned by a big publishing house).
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,723
    Is live streaming a religious service treated as a live-stream or a religious service?
    live stream. This is why it was such a big deal when Covid hit; one license even granted a temporary general grace period so everyone could get their affairs in order. (And even when you have the license to stream, you then have to pull the stream down after a year.)
    Thanked by 2Chris Garton-Zavesky John_F_Church
  • CatholicZ09
    Posts: 264
    I wonder if Alstott will change anything (besides the text) if/when we go over to the Revised Grail for the psalms.
  • David AndrewDavid Andrew
    Posts: 1,204
    I inherited a program that uses (until two weeks ago) the R & A book (of which we have multiple copies of the ‘23 edition). I’ve switched to chanting the verses in the “Lectionary Psalms” book along with the refrains that appear Worship IV, so that they match what the people see in their pew hymnal. Eventually we will move to chant-based antiphons with verses chanted to psalm tones to get away from the rather constrained options from the usual publishers.

    I “retired” from full-time church work nearly 8 years ago, and upon my return am both amazed and frustrated to find that the administrative aspects of the work of managing a parish music program have become even more convoluted and bureaucratic, rather than less. Licensing, copyright permissions, and reporting are a great millstone around the neck of honest Catholic musicians, while those who continue to traffic in dreck manage to totter on.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen CharlesW LauraKaz
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,723
    Licensing, copyright permissions, and reporting are a great millstone around the neck of honest Catholic musicians, while those who continue to traffic in dreck manage to totter on.

    This is why I've taken the 'simple' route: I write my own psalm arrangements (often with the melody based on a version found in an ancient manuscript), I write all my own gospel acclamations, and only use hymns and texts that are in the public domain. I pair all of this with sacred polyphony which is either quite obviously in the public domain, or offered by modern composers under CC licenses on places like CPDL. I sprinkle in a few arrangements from St. James Music Press from time to time (I love their licensing model), but otherwise I either own the copyright myself, or use material that is squarely in the public domain. It makes life a lot easier in the bureaucratic sense. It's true that this approach carries other burdens, such as the fact that I have to make worship aids, and spend time finding a lot of the good old forgotten hymnody, but I think the pros well outweigh the cons.

    Your other approach is simply to find a hymnal you can live with (and be constrained by its contents) and pair it with a collection like R&A, and simply not do any live streaming. Simple.
    Thanked by 2CharlesW CHGiffen
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,934
    Public domain is good! I used as much of it as possible when I was an organist/DM. Most of it is better quality than what is being published by the major publishing houses.
    Thanked by 5tomjaw francis CHGiffen a_f_hawkins ServiamScores
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    I do the same as you @ServiamScores.
    Thanked by 1ServiamScores
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    I follow the general arc, Serviam, but I haven't used any of my own stuff yet (except an arrangement of Agincourt for the text Vexilla Regis, both of which (Agincourt and Vexilla Regis) I presume to be in public domain.

    That said, I'm going to have a semichorus learn Charles Giffen's 2-part Ave Maria just after Easter.

    Thank you, Charles, for writing such a solid piece. I've been using it in my music history class (homeschooled class of one, my youngest), too.
    Thanked by 3ServiamScores CHGiffen tomjaw
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