The Hill News

Just as pop and country music writers’ and publishers’ livelihoods have been decimated from the growth and proliferation of illegal Web sites making copyright infringement easy, the writers and publishers from within the church and religious music publishing marketplace have been impacted just as severely.

It is often noted that digital theft is “devastating” or “bad for jobs and the economy”, and this is true.  Too often, however, the true impact of the problem on communities all across America is discounted and overlooked because the red carpets and the fancy costumes of a handful of “mega-stars” form people’s impression of the music industry. Let me paint a more realistic picture.

The Church Music Publishers Association, founded in 1926, currently represents 46 member publishers. A diverse group, our membership includes representation from the publishing houses of almost every major church denomination, the publishing companie! s or affiliates from every major contemporary Christian record label, the church music divisions of several major secular publishing houses, several independents, both small and large, as well as publishers who are involved primarily in educational markets, just to name a few.

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