Music Copying and Performance Policy

Sheet Music Copies

One of our goals as a nonprofit organization is to make new sacred music more readily available for performance. For that reason, all of our music is offered as Downloadable Sheet Music. When you order Downloadable Sheet Music, you get the music you ordered immediately, rather than having to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

In addition to this, our unique copyright policy is that you only have to order one copy of the music. That one purchase authorizes you to print or copy as many copies as needed for your choir or group. We only ask that you retain control of all of the copies. If members of your group want to keep their copy, they will need to purchase a Downloadable copy for themselves.

So for example, if you're performing the piece with your choir: order one copy of the sheet music, print enough copies for the conductor, accompanist and members of the choir, rehearse and perform the piece, then collect the music as you would any other sheet music you purchase. In other words, do not give copies to or share the digital file with others. Let them purchase their own. 

Or, if you're performing a vocal solo: order one copy of the sheet music, print a copy for yourself and your accompanist (and a copy for the violinist or cellist, if applicable), rehearse and perform the piece, then collect the music from the others and keep the copies for next time. Again, if the accompanist wants their own copy, they'll need to purchase one for themselves.

Finally, if you're performing an entire work, like "Lamb of God" with choir, orchestra, soloists, narrators, etc., you'll need to order 3 separate items:

• the Full Orchestral Score and Parts: this contains the Conductor's Score and all of the Instrumental parts
• the Piano/Vocal Score and Script: this includes the Narration Script, and a Piano/Vocal Score for soloists and rehearsal (your conductor may also want to conduct from this score if they are unfamiliar with orchestral scores)
• the Choir Part Only Booklet: this contains just the choir parts for use by choir members, so that you don't have to go to the expense of printing a full score for each member of the choir

So first, you order each of these 3 items, then print a copy of the Full Orchestral Score for the conductor, print a copy of the appropriate Instrumental Part for each instrumentalist, print the Piano/Vocal Score for the rehearsal accompanist and conductor, print the pages needed from the Piano/Vocal Score for each soloist, print the Narration Script for the narrator(s), and print a copy of the Choir Part Only Booklet for each choir member, then rehearse and perform the piece, then collect all of the scores, parts and scripts and keep them for the next time. Again, if anyone in the group wants their own copy to keep, let them purchase it for themselves, as they would any other printed music. Please remember that if you're planning to perform an entire work, we do require you to reach out to us at sales@spiremusic.org with the details of your production so we can determine the licensing fee.

We hope this liberal copying policy will allow your group, whatever the size and budget to share this music with others through performance. Please honor it and support our mission by adhering to it. Thank you.

Performance and Licensing Policy

In order to perform any of our full works (ie. "Lamb of God", "Joseph Smith the Prophet", etc), you will need to get permission from us. Even free, religiously sponsored performances are subject to licensing by law. Our licensing fees are very reasonable, but they do apply even to free productions. If there is an admission price or donation for your performance (even if it is just to cover costs), we will need to negotiate a fair fee or royalty. Please contact us at sales (at) spiremusic.org to work out those details.

Recording and Filming Policy

If you wish to record any of our songs, you will need to pay royalties through a Mechanical License. This is true even for recordings given away for free or sold at cost. These royalties are set by Congress and are very cheap (currently less than 10 cents per copy). To receive a Mechanical License and pay the royalties, visit either www.easysonglicensing.com or www.loudr.fm and follow the directions there. 

We have a very strict policy against the recording and/or filming of our full works (ie. "Lamb of God", "Joseph Smith the Prophet", etc). In order to control our intellectual property and how it is distributed to the public, we do NOT allow the recording and/or filming and/or broadcasting and/or streaming of any performance of these works without express permission. This includes copies given or sold only to members of the performing group. If you wish to record and/or film and/or broadcast and/or stream your performance for any reason, you must receive express permission from us, but please understand that we will most likely deny permission. We understand that many people like to have a copy of their own performance, or that you might want to offer your performance to those who cannot attend in person, but we hope you will understand and respect our position in trying to protect our work.