Music
You cannot legally "rip" music from a CD, video, or stream, and put it on your website. This is a copyright violation, and you could end up paying a hefty fine.
There are some websites that offer musical selections that are either public domain (the copyright expired — many older hymns fall under this category) or they are original pieces of music that are given away freely as a ministry. If you do this, make sure you follow their usage guidelines.
An easier option is to find the song in a YouTube video and embed the YouTube video into your web page.
What about MIDI files? I heard it was legal to use those without permission.
First of all, don't use MIDI music files. They will make your site sound like its stuck in the 90s. And no, just because someone has created a MIDI file of a song, doesn't mean they received permission from the from the song's copyright holder(s) and can give you permission to use it.
Images
Images
You cannot legally save or download an image used on another website, and put it on your website This is a copyright violation, and you could end up paying a hefty fine.
You can:
- Use original photos and artwork
- Purchase copyrighted photos from stock image websites
- Use free images available on royalty-free stock image sites
We have a blog article about royalty-free stock image sites that we periodically update.
What about all the other webmasters who break copyright laws?
You will certainly find sites — even Christian sites — that use music and images without permission, and we believe most do so in ignorance without malice. Our intention is not to police the Internet but to do what we believe is right here at OurChurch.Com.
What if I have permission from the website owner where I found the image or music?
Does the website owner really own the image or music piece? If they are not the original composer, artist, lyricist, singer, etc., then they are not the owner. And even if they are one of these, it doesn't mean they own all copyrights.
For example, if I draw a picture of Charlie Brown and put him on my website, I might consider myself the "original artist," but I would be breaking the law to publish it unless I have permission from United Features Syndicate (the copyright owner of the Peanuts comic strip) to use Charlie Brown's likeness. And even if I have this permission, I would need distribution rights in order to give another person permission to use it.
