Licensing and Copyright

Thank you for choosing to perform a unique Grumpy Sheep Musical! We create each musical with great love and care, and we very much hope that you will enjoy your performances as much as we enjoy composing and writing the works.

All of our musicals are copyright and you must buy a licence from us in order to perform them. General licences, such as PRS, which your school or organisation may have do not cover performances of our musicals. You legally must have a licence from us if you are performing one of our musicals.

Licensing Guidelines Summary...
For teaching purposes, the use of the material in our musicals or songbooks is freely allowed. However, if you intend to perform our musicals or songs to anyone other then staff and schoolchildren, or reproduce the lyrics of our songs, the following legal requirements must be observed:

To Perform our Musicals and Nativities...
Whether or not you charge for admission, if you perform any one of our musicals or nativities (or part of) you need to buy a performance licence for that particular musical from Grumpy Sheep Music.

Either buy an Advance Licence at the same time as buying the book and CD,
or buy an Instant Licence before your performances take place.
Both of these licences allow your to put on any number of performances for the specific musical within a 9 month specified period; it is generally just more cost effective to buy the Advance Licence at the same time as your book and CD.
The Advance or Instant Licences are only intended for use by playgroups, nurseries, schools, church groups etc. They are not intended, for example, by theatre and stage schools who need to contact us directly to obtain a separate commercial licence to perform any of our works.

You need to buy a performance licence to perform Grumpy Sheep musicals wherever performances take place in the world. The licence protects your school/organisation against any infringement of copyright. Please note, a Performing Rights Society (PRS) licence does not allow you to perform Grumpy Sheep musicals and nativities

Where to Buy our Performing Licences...
Grumpy Sheep Music licences are available to buy online from the product page of each musical. Our licences cover you for the academic year. If you want to the perform the same musical again in subsequent years, please buy a performing licence again, each year, to cover your performances.

If you want to order your performing licence at the same time as your book and CD, choose the drop down which includes the Advance Licence with your book and CD. It’s generally cheaper to buy your licence this way. The Advance Licence can only be purchased at the same time as ordering the Book & CD of the same title. It can't be bought separately or at a later date.
If you want to buy your performing licence closer to your performances, choose an Instant Licence from the drop down menu before your performances take place. This is also the licence you need if you want to perform the same musical again in future years. You need to renew your performing licence each academic year.
If you prefer to apply for your peforming licence by post or email, just photocopy and complete the form before your performances take place. Then either email music@grumpysheep.co.uk or post it to us at Grumpy Sheep Music, PO Box 152, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7WB. We will then assess it and email your licence to you. (Please give us an accurate email address!)
If you wish to record your performance please let us know separately by phone or email as you will need an extra licence to produce any CDs or DVDs. Alternatively complete the Performance Rights Licence form found on the last page of your musical with your recording information and return it to us. If you intend to make video or audio recordings of any of our works, you must contact us to arrange a separate recording licence in order to do this. This audio/video licence can be arranged after the purchase of the advance or instant performance licence.

Our Covid Licence Promise
If you have to cancel your Christmas performance this year due to Covid, just let us know and we'll happily extend your performance licence so that it's free to use in 2023. For Christmas 2022, your performance licence will allow you to film/stream your children's performance - instead of a live performance - for family and friends only. When uploading your recordings/livestream events, you must credit Grumpy Sheep Music using an inbound link to www.grumpysheep.com. Please note that Grumpy Sheep Music's original vocal recordings can not be posted on public websites.

To Perform our Songs...
If you want to perform any of our songs in public, even on school premises, to anyone other than schoolchildren and staff, royalty payments apply. Schools often have an agreement with the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for this. If you have such an agreement, please inform the PRS about the performance of any of our songs. If your organisation does not have a PRS agreement, please contact Grumpy Sheep Music directly to obtain a licence.

To Reproduce our Lyrics...
If you intend to reproduce our song lyrics or musical scores in school or church, for example for the incorporation of lyrics into a programme, or overhead transparencies, a licence will be needed. Grumpy Sheep Music is a member of CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing) who permit photocopying or reproduction of song lyrics and musical scores to schools and churches who hold the appropriate licences. If you hold a CCLI licence, please log the song lyrics or music that you have used in your CWCL, CWMRL, CCL or MRL report. If your organisation does not hold an appropriate CCLI licence, please contact Grumpy Sheep Music for the necessary permission.

Video, Audio and DVD Recordings
Please contact us if you want to make any audio or video recordings of any of our material, as a separate recording licence is required. This applies whether you intend to sell on any recordings or distribute them for free. The traditional licence form incorporates information about video and audio recordings, but the advance licence and instant performance licence does not. If any recordings are to be made a separate licence is required. Please let us know the total number of recordings ultimately being duplicated, not just the one original recording you will be making.

File- Sharing, Copying & Uploading
Our download files are copyright. When you purchase a digital download only you are licensed to use it, solely within your school or organisation. You must not share our files, by any means, with any other individual or group. Our downloads must not be placed on a school parent portal or the internet. Similarly our CDs must not be copied. We supply extra packs of CDs.

Helpful Contacts
The following links may be of use:
www.ccli.com
www.prsformusic.com