Livestreaming guidance for church groups

Learn more:

Learn via a live CofE webinar
Connect a Zoom meeting to Facebook etc
How to make videos – free course

Livestreaming without wifi
Tools and resources
Broadcast licensing

To help cut through the barrage of information online and find a livestreaming solution which will work in a church context, the videos and resources below aim to answer two questions: (1) how do you livestream, and (2) what tools do you use? We speak to three different church leaders about how exactly they livestream their services or groups.

 

1a. Livestreaming via Facebook or Youtube

In this first video, we hear from The Revd Nick Davies, and Chris Witham:

1b. Livestreaming via Zoom

In this second video, we learn from The Revd Jo Pestell:

 

2. What Livestreaming tools do you use?

here are the tools and resources referenced in the videos above:

SIMPLE
Facebook mobile app: livestream as simply as possible (or for Android here)
Youtube: Live broadcast from laptop/webcam
Zoom: run live meetings online

LESS SIMPLE
Larix: Stream from mobile into Youtube etc (or for Android here)
Restream: Distribute your stream to multiple social channels
Mevo: use a Livestream video camera connected to a laptop
Faith Online: fairly straightforward setup using Mevo kit, and can push audio to a phone line
Zoom: broadcast a live zoom meeting/service on Facebook or Youtube
Resound: free worship music
Kapwing: auto-generate subtitles for [non-live] video
Live Transcribe: app to show live subtitles
24-7 Prayer: Register a Prayer Room, for free, here
How to make videos – free course from the Open University

COMPLEX
Xsplit Broadcaster: create multi-input content
Mevo: network together multiple Livestream video cameras
Restream: Distribute your stream to multiple social channels
Open Broadcast Software: live-edit multiple camera/powerpoint feeds into one stream
Menti: capture and display group contributions

 

Broadcasting and licensing copyright

Dispensation: for some special public interest events, churches can broadcast without any license. See this statement from the BBC for example.

Advice on Livestreaming/broadcast worship licensing (click here)
CCLI responded swiftly to the copyright requirements of churches streaming services online during the coronavirus pandemic. Their Streaming Licence is available to churches who already pay for an annual Church Copyright Licence (https://uk.ccli.com/copyright-licences/#ccl), the cost depending on the average main Sunday congregation size (pre-lockdown): so, for example, a supplementary £56 annually for congregations of 50–99 people. A Limited Online Music Licence from PRS for Music (www.prsformusic.com/licences/using-music-online) is also needed if the stream is hosted on a church’s own website and copyright material is sung or played. Check if a particular song is covered via CCLI’s SongSelect (https://songselect.ccli.com).

Worship music and licensing copyright

Copyright questions around worship music can be a complex matter for churches, below are a few key pieces of advice from various sources:

Advice on livestreaming copyright, from Resound
See also: Latest CofE advice on public worship events

Advice on Livestreaming/broadcast worship licensing (click here)
The CCLI Streaming Licence is available to churches who already pay for an annual Church Copyright Licence (https://uk.ccli.com/copyright-licences/#ccl), the cost depending on the average main Sunday congregation size (pre-lockdown): so, for example, a supplementary £56 annually for congregations of 50–99 people. A Limited Online Music Licence from PRS for Music (www.prsformusic.com/licences/using-music-online) is also needed if the stream is hosted on a church’s own website and copyright material is sung or played. Check if a particular song is covered via CCLI’s SongSelect (https://songselect.ccli.com).

There is also useful information about copyright and streaming on the One License website (www.onelicense.net) for churches who reproduce or stream songs not covered by CCLI, such as ‘O God, you search me and you know me’ (Bernadette Farrell), ‘I, the Lord of sea and sky’ (Dan Schutte) and chants from Taizé.

Some organisations, such as Resound Worship, have given permission for the free use of their songs in streamed services during the Covid-19 crisis (www.resoundworship.org/).

Information kindly shared by Anne Harrison
Praxis News of Worship, Issue 66, June 2020

 

‘Livestreaming’ to Facebook, even without broadband/wifi: