Churches must pay royalties for music used during services – GHAMRO CEO

Ghana's Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), Jackson Brefo, has stated that churches are obligated to pay royalties for music used during services. Mr. Brefo explained that Ghana's copyright law does not grant churches an exception when copyrighted music is performed publicly during worship. Speaking to Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM's Showbiz A-Z, he emphasized that the law applies to anyone who uses or causes an author's work to be performed in public, regardless of the institution's nature.

While the law provides for certain instances of fair use, notably for educational purposes, it does not explicitly exempt churches from paying royalties. Mr. Brefo stated that the law never mentions churches, thus clarifying GHAMRO's interpretation of the legislation. He shared that compliance from established orthodox denominations had been more favorable, whereas achieving compliance from newer charismatic and Pentecostal churches has been more challenging.

Among the denominations that GHAMRO considers compliant, he mentioned the Church of Pentecost, Assemblies of God, and the Methodist Church. Brefo highlighted that enhancing compliance among Christian congregations could directly affect the amount of money generated and ultimately distributed to gospel musicians whose works are frequently used in church services.

He urged gospel artists to communicate with church leaders and urge them to meet their responsibilities towards copyright holders. The demand for churches to pay for music used in worship is not a new issue. GHAMRO has been advocating for churches to be included in the royalty system for years. In July 2017, then Chairman Rex Omar announced that the organization was implementing measures to ensure churches paid for music used during services, citing the involvement of musicians' intellectual property.

In March 2020, Omar reiterated the call for churches to be licensed and billed for copyrighted music performed during services. The organization's stance aligns with Section 37(2) of the Copyright Act 2005 (Act 690), which requires copyright owners to collect royalties from the live performance or public performance of recorded works.

As a collective management organization, GHAMRO manages the rights of music rightsholders in Ghana, including licensing music users, collecting royalties, and distributing the proceeds to the rights owners. Mr. Brefo's recent comments have reignited the ongoing debate about the use of copyrighted gospel and other musical works during worship and whether creators are adequately compensated for their use.