Dear Colleagues:
Several of you have asked recently about the practice of Facebook to stop Sunday services because the service includes live music. I have contacted our General Counsel about this. Her response is below.
FaceBook may stop a broadcast of a song if it is concerned about licensing—it has automated protocols for this. It may or may not accept the church’s representation or proof that it has a license for future broadcasts—each church will have to contact FB on this. That’s the issue with streaming anywhere except from the church’s own website. At a minimum, a church needs a streaming license that allows social media streaming. Some licenses allow streaming but only from the church’s website. But Facebook owns the FB platform so churches will always be subject to FB’s whims on this.
If you have questions about this or need more assistance with your own licensing questions, let me know.
Peace,
Carrie
