Frequently Asked Questions

OK, I'm intrigued. How does this work?

You sign up for a yearly subscription on the website. Then, when you login with your user name and password, you'll be able to download each and every piece of music on the site. You have our permission—nay, blessing—to photocopy anything and everything for your choir and congregation.

It sounds too easy. Don't I have to fill out a form every time I copy something or tell you how many copies I'm going to make?

Nope.

My computer is pretty old. What are the minimum requirements to use the site?

The site has been tested and is working in all modern web browsers and operating systems. For best results, you should be using at least Internet Explorer 8, FireFox 3.5+, or a modern Webkit browser (Chrome or Safari). Your operating system should be Windows XP and up, or OSX on a Mac. You also need to be running both Flash and Javascript on your browser. (These are usually on by default.) If things seem to be wonky on your screen, please go to SupportDetails.com and send amy@sjmp.com a report. We'll try to get you sorted out.

What if I download everything on the website the first year. I'll have enough anthems for the rest of my life! Bwaaahahahaha!

What? Are you trying to put us out of business? Well sure, you can join for a year and try to print out everything on the site just to save the church a paltry $159 next year. Brilliant! You'll have 15,000 pages of music to catalog all by yourself. Good luck with that. Why not just let us do it? Not to mention, you'll be missing all the great new stuff we'll be putting on the site each month.

What if I give my log-in and password to someone else so they can use it at their own church?

Please don't. We actually believe that most church musicians are honest, law abiding citizens. At this price, why not just tell them about it?

O.K. I understand all this, but when I was a small child, my mother used to take our family down to the post office and take our pictures by holding our faces on the Xerox machine and putting in quarters. Now I have a deathly fear of photocopying. What can I do?

We recommend therapy.

May I still feel guilty while I'm copying this music? It's one of my greatest pleasures.

Yes.

Isn't it illegal to photocopy music?

No. It is illegal to photocopy music that is under copyright without the copyright holder's permission. WE GIVE YOU THAT PERMISSION!

Our church has a CCLI license. And the youth group just bought a OneLicense.net license. We're allowed to copy all the music we want anyway.

Oops. Hope you don't get caught. A CCLI License - The Christian Copyright Licensing International agreement - provides permission to copy songs for congregational use. It enables you to make overhead transparencies, songsheets and songbooks, input lyrics on a computer, record worship services, and make arrangements of the music (where no published version exists).

A OneLicense.net license allows license holders to reprint the melody line and words for any title copyrighted by one of their Member Publishers except choral anthems, where only the words may be reproduced.

Neither of these licenses conveys the right to photocopy octavos, cantatas, or instrumental arrangements or parts. This permission can only be granted you by the publisher. We give you that permission!

When is it necessary to seek permission to use a copyrighted work?

The simple answer is: always. Whenever a copyrighted work is reproduced in any form, permission must be obtained. This applies to print, projection, recording, web-based uses (live streaming or services such as YouTube or Vimeo), and any other form, even those yet to be developed. This applies to bulletins, song books, handouts, projections, recordings for shut-ins, an "extra" copy for the accompanist, videos of worship services and "special" services (such as musicals, children's Christmas programs, etc.) - anytime you reproduce a copyrighted work you need to ask permission.

What about YouTube? May we post our choir videos?

Unlike most other publishers, we're happy to give you unlimited permission to use YouTube to promote your church, choirs, and music program. Most publishers won't do that, and here's why: posting a video of your choir singing a copyrighted anthem to YouTube without permission of the music publisher is in violation of the copyright laws. Yes, it's true.

Okay - that being said, as a subscriber to SJMP.com, you have our permission!

(Of course, this only applies to the 1800+ pieces found in the St. James Music Press catalog ...)

 

  • We are not registered with OneLicense.net or CCLI.com or LicenSingOnline.org. We don't need to be and, in most cases, these licenses don't cover these issues anyway. Oh, and here's an interesting fact. A CCLI license for a congregation size of 200-499 ... $261 per year.
  • As a subscriber, make whatever photocopies you need.
  • If you need to make a recording of the anthem or any of the parts for your choir to listen to, please do. Or just make copies of ours. That's fine, too.
  • If you want to post recordings/videos of your choir to your church's website, please do.
  • If you'd like to post the children's Christmas musical to YouTube, please do. Anthems as well.
  • If you want to reprint the words of the anthem in the bulletin (always included on the website), please do.
  • If you'd like to write out a flute part to an anthem, please do. This music is meant to serve you, your choir and your congregation.
  • A one year subscription ... anything and everything ... $159. Membership has its privileges!
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