The Copyright Queen has graciously consented to moderate this blog to facilitate streaming conversation with church worship and media leaders, copyright professionals, attorneys, Christian song publishers and other experts—anyone interested in finding copyright solutions. You may not be familiar with the royal "CQ" and her personal mission to help churches and ministries facing complex (and often frustrating) copyright compliance issues.  

Some think she is a mythical figure, others proclaim she's a former attorney who had a "road to Damascus" conversion and is now dedicated to the cause of the common worship leader, while some say she was once a song publisher. The royal CQ simply says, "I am determined to help churches and ministries solve the conundrum of copyright compliance."

The CQ: When people discover that my vocation revolves around copyrights, folks usually break eye contact, drop their heads, and slink away towards the nearest exit. No…my calling does not evoke feelings of inspiration and warm fuzzies, but I am nonetheless passionate about helping Christian organizations solve the puzzle of copyright compliance. The difficult part is that I often have to deliver answers that people don’t want to hear, and I can’t always provide really easy solutions to the copyright conundrum.

I do find, however, that conversation leads to collaboration and collective brain storming resulting in creative ways to simplify and ease the painful process of being copyright compliant. That’s my vision for this Christian Copyright blog, so I’ll ask some of my friends and colleagues (aka “the royal copyright entourage”) to contribute their ideas, experience and perspectives as we tackle many of today’s toughest challenges for churches and ministries.

I've just spent the past 10 days traveling from Nashville to New York City to Washington, D.C. It's been a whirlwind, but incredibly exciting and rewarding as I have identified and explored new ways to simplify the process of obtaining copyright clearances for churches and Christian organizations with song publishers, record labels, performance rights organizations and music ministers. 

In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll look at 1) significant briefs before the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board (http://www.digmedia.org/content/release.cfm?id=7232&content=pr), 2) various Internet copyright issues, 3) churches in the business of music, 4) work-made-for-hire policies, and 5) practical tips on being copyright compliant. We welcome your comments and solicit your input on topics and questions you’d like us to address. In the mean time, be sure to browse the archives from January and February for previous articles that may interest you.