Lutheran Service Book Hymn License Agreement

Terms of Agreement

This Agreement pertains to Churches who have purchased the Lutheran Service Book Hymn License (formerly known as “LSBHymnLicense.net”) and Lutheran Service Builder.

1. License Grant – Except as otherwise stated below under “Excluded Resources,” Concordia Publishing House (“CPH”) grants Licensee the nonexclusive right to reproduce the text and tune of the hymns included in Lutheran Service Book (“Hymn Resources”) for use in worship services. Reproduction may be in the form of printing or projecting Hymn Resources. In addition, Licensee is permitted to record worship services containing Hymn Resources by either audio or audio-visual means to distribute for one-time use to members of the Licensee’s church who are sick, elderly, or shut-in on CD or DVD, or stream/podcast their service on their own church media sites.

Licensee may include any CPH copyrighted preludes, musical introductions, handbell/instrumental pieces, and choir anthems as part of its streaming or podcast of the worship service. This license does not grant Licensee permission to stream or podcast any non-CPH preludes, praise music, musical introductions, handbell/instrumental pieces, or choir anthems.

2. (A) Definition of “Excluded Resources” for the Hymn License- For purposes of this Agreement, “Excluded Resources” shall mean the following:

a. The printing of all settings to the hymns and canticles found in Lutheran Service Book; and
b. The following copyrighted material found in Lutheran Service Book:

Congregations in United States and Canada:

Congregations outside the United States and Canada:

c. The Lutheran Service Book Hymn License only includes permission to reproduce hymns found in Lutheran Service Book, and no other hymns or songbooks. Licensee may not print or project any CPH copyrighted preludes, musical introductions, handbell/instrumental pieces and choir anthems without additional permission.

(B) Definition of “Excluded Resources” for Streaming/Podcast License - For purposes of this Agreement, “Excluded Resources” shall mean the following:

a. The following copyrighted material found in Lutheran Service Book:

b. The Streaming/Podcast License only includes permission for hymns found in Lutheran Service Book, and music copyrighted  by CPH.  

 Licensee must obtain additional permission from the copyright holder of the Excluded Resources set forth above.

3. License Fees – This License Agreement will be automatically renewed upon the anniversary date of purchase. Licensee may cancel this license before the expiration of the then current license period. License renewal fees for Lutheran Service Book Hymn License are billed at the annual rate in effect at the time of the renewal. These rates are subject to change without notice. 

4. Restrictions – No material reproduced or recorded pursuant to this license may be sold or distributed for payment or donation of any kind, in any manner disseminated via the internet (other than streaming or podcasting via the church media sites) or outside the congregational membership in any other manner. Licensee agrees that it will not alter the text or tunes of the portions of the Hymn Resources that it uses.

5. Copyright Notice- Licensee agrees that each reproduced copy of a Hymn Resource and each stream or podcast will include the hymn title, author and composer names, and a proper notice of copyright in the following form:

Text [and/or tune, setting, music] © xxxx [insert copyright holder name].  Used by permission.
Lutheran Service Book Hymn License #xxxxx.

Copyright notices pertaining to Hymn Resources shall be placed immediately following the Hymn Resource as printed or projected.

Copyright notices pertaining to resources included as part of the stream or podcast shall be part of the stream or podcast or printed on the website where the stream or podcast can be accessed.

6. Reporting – Licensee agrees to report to CPH each and every copyrighted Hymn Resource reproduced or streamed/podcast under this license monthly at Lutheran Service Builder. If you need to set-up a new account for recording the information, please call 1-800-346-6120.

7. Audit – Upon request (on a random basis), the Licensee agrees to send one copy of its reprints for a specified week to CPH via surface mail to enable CPH to monitor compliance with these terms on behalf of its participating publishers.

8. Term – The term of license takes effect upon the purchase date of the annual license and remains in effect for one year and shall be subject to automatic renewal as set forth above, unless terminated as provided by this Agreement.

9. Termination- This license shall terminate: 1) in the event that Licensee fails to pay the License Fee in which case termination shall be automatic and shall occur on the expiration date; or 2) in the event that the Licensee fails to comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including but not limited to reporting usage of copyrighted Hymn Resources as required herein, in which case the termination shall be effective 30 days after receipt by Licensee of written notice of termination.

10. Other – In addition, this License Agreement: i) cannot be assigned or transferred by Licensee without the approval of CPH; ii) is the exclusive agreement between Licensee and CPH concerning the Hymn Resources; iii) is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri; and iv) may be modified at any time by CPH with or without notice. The latest version of this License Agreement can be found at https://music.cph.org/lutheran-service-builder/hymn-license-agreement. 

Revised February 2024