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Church and Worship Music for Livestreams and Videos
A church licence and a recording are two different things. CCLI's Streaming License covers songs your musicians perform live in an online service; a recording, whether a CD, a backing track or Spotify, needs its own rights. Here you find sacred recordings for the parts of a service and for everything around it, from the livestream countdown to the Easter video and the funeral slideshow: organ, choir, hymns and the sacred classics, licensed once for €29.90 per track, worldwide and with no expiry.
Curated by Paul Lorenz — composer, arranger & conductor · his Violin Concerto No. 2 recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios · Vienna State Opera
500M+ streams · Gold & Double Platinum · Instant download · Lifetime worldwide license
Church and Worship Music for Livestreams and Videos: hand-picked & sync-ready
Listen, then license: €29.90 per track, one-time · worldwide, for life · instant WAV download
Bach/Gounod: Ave Maria Recomposed (Violin Version)
Artyfile Orchestra
Which recording for which part of the service?
- Livestream countdown and prelude: Pachelbel: Canon in D Major, Canon in D for string quartet, Handel: Foundling Hospital.
- Hymns and chorales: Amazing Grace for organ and flute, An Irish Blessing for choir, Bach: BWV 11 Chorale.
- Prayer, meditation and communion: Allegri: Miserere for choir and organ, Palestrina: Alma Redemptoris, Humperdinck: Evening Prayer.
- Easter, Pentecost and feast days: Handel: Hallelujah, Vivaldi: Gloria, Mahler's "Resurrection" finale (Symphony No. 2).
- Organ postlude: Bach: Toccata and Fugue, Charpentier's Te Deum prelude (Eurovisionshymne).
- Weddings: Bach/Gounod: Ave Maria, Wedding March with fanfare, Wagner: Bridal Chorus.
- Funerals and memorial services: Bruckner: Aequale for three trombones; more on memorial slideshow music.
- Advent and Christmas: Silent Night (choir); more on orchestral Christmas music.
Artyfile's sacred catalogue is classical and traditional. It has no contemporary worship songs; for those, a CCLI licence and the song's own recordings remain the route.
What does a church licence cover, and what not?
- CCLI Streaming License: songs from the CCLI catalogue performed live in your online services. It does not cover playing recordings.
- CCLI Streaming Plus: adds master recordings and multitracks, but only from labels that have authorised CCLI. CCLI itself notes that its licences do not override the streaming platforms' rules.
- OneLicense (mainly Catholic and liturgical publishers): your own recordings and livestreams of services using titles from member publishers, renewed yearly; not commercial recordings.
- Promotional videos, social media adverts and website films are not what these licences are for.
An Artyfile licence covers the recording and the composition for your own videos and streams: the livestream and its recording, your website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, the Easter announcement and the parish film (T&C §8.1). Playing music aloud in the church building is a public performance, which churches settle with their collecting society, in Germany under the churches' GEMA agreements.
Are old hymns public domain?
The melody and the original words often are; the version you hear usually is not. In the EU a hymn is free 70 years after the death of its composer, its author and, for a translation, its translator. In the US, works published in 1930 or earlier are public domain as of 2026. A new arrangement or translation can be protected on its own, and every recording is protected: in the US only recordings from 1925 or earlier are free. So a public-domain hymn still needs a licensed recording, or your own musicians.
What happens on YouTube?
Artyfile registers its catalogue with YouTube Content ID under a monetisation policy. On an uploaded service or video a claim can appear and YouTube may show adverts on that video; it is not a copyright strike and the video stays online. YouTube also scans live streams and can interrupt a stream when it detects registered music, even licensed music. If adverts or interruptions are not acceptable for your worship stream, use Artyfile recordings on your website, in announcement videos and social clips, and let your musicians play live in the YouTube service.
Why Artyfile
Real Musicians, Not AI
Played by professional musicians and recorded in real studios — real recordings, never AI-generated stock.
Fully Cleared
Sync & master rights managed directly by Artyfile, for life & worldwide. No extra GEMA fees, YouTube Content ID rules apply.
Beyond Licensing
With Limited Edition you own a share of the master and earn streaming & sync royalties.
Instant Download
Studio-grade 44.1 kHz WAV, the moment you buy. No subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CCLI Streaming License cover playing recorded music?
No. It covers songs from the CCLI catalogue performed live in your online services. Recordings and backing tracks need CCLI Streaming Plus, and only from labels that have authorised CCLI, or a licence from the rights holder.
What music can a church use in a livestream?
Songs performed live under the church's licence (CCLI in the US and UK, the churches' GEMA agreements in Germany), and recordings that are licensed for streaming. An Artyfile licence covers the recording in your livestream and its recording, worldwide, for €29.90 once per track.
Are old hymns public domain?
Often the melody and original words are: in the EU 70 years after the death of composer, author and translator, in the US if published in 1930 or earlier. Arrangements, translations and every recording can still be protected, so you need a licensed recording or your own musicians.
Can we use the music in a parish video or an Easter announcement?
Yes. Promotional and announcement videos, website films and social posts of the church are covered by an Artyfile licence, worldwide and with no expiry. Church licences such as CCLI are not made for these uses.
Can we play the music during the service in the church?
Playing music aloud in the church is a public performance. Churches settle it with their collecting society; in Germany the churches' GEMA agreements cover music in services. The Artyfile licence is for videos and streams, not for public playback.
Will a YouTube video of our service show adverts?
It can. Artyfile's catalogue is registered with YouTube Content ID under a monetisation policy, so a claim can appear and YouTube may show adverts on that video. It is not a strike and the video stays online.
Do you have contemporary worship songs?
No. Artyfile's sacred catalogue is classical and traditional: organ, choir, hymns and sacred classics. Contemporary worship songs are licensed through CCLI and their publishers.