Sheet Music, Notation and / or Lyrics
Copying Sheet music, notation and / or lyrics for use in lessons, assemblies or other school activities
In a lesson:
The Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML) permits the copying of entire works from UK printed music publications or 10% of an anthology. The original copied from can be owned by the school, or any teacher or music hub/service engaged in school activities. ). Printed Music Licensing Limited (PMLL) offers the SPML to all schools within the UK. Schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are covered through central deals with the respective governments. Independent schools and schools in Wales are licensed on a school by school or Local Authority basis. If you are unsure if your schools has a licence or need more information, please contact CEFM (Centre for Education and Finance Management).
Under the Licence you can:
- Photocopy printed music publications. Copies can also be made using score-writing software programs and notation by hand
- Photocopy pdf’s of songs that have been purchase from a legitimate website
- Arrange musical works
- Upload copies on a VLE or similar secure network
- Photocopy music for individual or group tuition where that supports a student’s curricular studies
The Licence DOES NOT cover:
- Copying more than 10% of the items (pieces of music or songs) included in anthology or large vocal score (e.g. one out of 10 songs, rather than 10 pages from a 100 page anthology)
- Any works specifically excluded by the publisher – a list of any exclusions is available on the PMLL website page.
For extra-curricular use e.g. performing at a school activity:
The Schools printed Music Licence permits the reproduction of printed music for school activities such as concerts, recitals and other performances.
If you need further information on the licence there is an FAQ a section on the PMLL website.
Please remember that the licence requires you to include a small credit on all copies.
For extra-curricular use e.g. performing at a school activity:
The Schools printed Music Licence permits the reproduction of printed music for school activities such as concerts, recitals and other performances.
In assemblies:
The Collective Worship licences provided by Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) permit you to reproduce song lyrics or copy sheet music for use during assemblies and times of collective worship.
The CCLI Collective Worship Copyright Licence
- Covers you to project song lyrics from a computer onto a screen, or reproduce them in song/service sheets
- Covers a vast repertoire of the hymns, worship and assembly songs popular in assemblies
- Permits you to make custom arrangements for instruments where no published version exists
- Does not cover the reproduction of songs in lessons
The CCLI Collective Worship Music Reproduction Licence
Available as an add-on to the Collective Worship Copyright Licence, this licence provides the additional cover to make copies of sheet music files:
- Photocopy or scan pages from song books and music publications
- Circulate or duplicate digital sheet music files, for example, by emailing them as PDFs
Please remember that you must report your use of any songs in your assemblies covered by these licences. Visit uk.ccli.com/reporting
Please note that any music required for an event characterised by collective worship, i.e. a ‘service’ rather than a ‘concert’, would require a licence from CCLI.