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so who is responsible for the royalty fees. the end user or the provider of the material. in this case putting a packag together and selling it as a complete package. either the software on the computer or just the software and the controller?



The responsibilty can lie on both or either, depending. The seller is responsible to pay royalties and also obtain clearance from the copyright owners. But you as a performer must also see to it that wherever you perform or publish that material is legally covered, too. Churches are not exempt from it. Occasionally I hear of a church getting the Cease and Desist letter for infringements, most are due to the copy machihe and sheet musics, but that is changing as more and more worship services are basically doing the coverband thing these days.

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what about adding live audio to the song?



Changing the mechanical means of reproduction does not change the ownership of the copyright or whether or not you are using someone else's copyrighted work.

All copyright issues are easier to decipher than ever before for US citizens anyway, the copyright office website is now fully functional and there is a great FAQ system in place.

http://www.copyright.gov/


It is a source of constant amazement that people who are inbolbed with worship services don't seem to understand the concept of stealing someone else's hard work and livelyhood, but there it is...

That said, I think that you should look into all aspects of performance rights matters before your congregation gets to a large size. Likely there is at least one lawyer in the congregation...


--Mac

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