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About Us |
WHAT IS CBYOND MUSIC? CByond
Music is a non-profit organization that publishes music, drama and books,
specializing in quality original materials for the church.
Our
concept is a simple one: to provide materials to the Body of Christ around the
world for free. Jesus said to the disciples, "Freely you have received,
freely give."
It
can be done if the company exists first within the local church, and next to
support other local churches. We take a generous attitude, because we write for
school and church groups, and then simply put the best ones onto a web page.
Our administrative costs are underwritten by donations, and so we can afford to do things that print-oriented publishers cannot do. Therefore, all of our income is donated to a scholarship fund for Cincinnati Christian University students. HOW DOES YOUR MATERIAL GET KNOWN? CByond
Music becomes known mostly through grassroots introductions to the worldwide church:
Music
is first generated, tried and tested in local churches or through the
University, in retreats and at conferences. The most useful songs
are then used in greater circles.
The
best of the material is made available to the Body of Christ at large through the CByond
Music web page. The address is cbyondmusic.org, with an alias of cbyondmusic.com.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
WHERE DOES THE COMPANY STAND RIGHT NOW? We are listed with ASCAP and CCLI. 3Z is our web site administrator. We are functioning as a non-profit organization, with full tax-exempt status of a 501(C)3 organization with the IRS. CByond
Music is the long-time dream of Dr. Ken Read. Ken has been writing worship songs for some
years, and has had a desire to share them with the Body of Christ at large. But
something seemed wrong about the conventional for-profit publishing arrangement.
If the early church fathers could write without the motive for fame or fortune,
why not do that today?
Ken also has a heart to teach and encourage songwriters, and so he created this outlet for the very best of the music others have written. A network of songwriters from around the world has already formed, and several writers have voiced an interest in the integrity of a non-profit publisher, which only carries doctrinally sound, usable material for the local church. WHAT STYLE(S) OF MUSIC DOES CBYOND CARRY? There
are several style categories, representing the music of our ethnic and cultural
diversity. But most of the music falls into the category of “consensus”
American music, which might be classified as soft-rock, or contemporary pop
music. The bottom line for all of the music is that it is usable for the
gathered church assembly.
q Some
of the songs are re-arrangements of familiar hymn tunes; others are hymn texts
with new settings; some are ancient or obscure texts with new music written for
them. All of these fall under the category of HYMNS
I TAUGHT MY MOTHER.
q Some
of the songs are biblical texts, whether short passages or long. Sometimes they
are exact words of a translation, other times they are paraphrased or freely
adapted texts. The musical style ranges from modified chant to contemporary pop,
and they are categorized as SCRIPTURE
SONGS.
q Some
of the songs are written to establish a tone for a worship service, either as
performance music just prior to the start of an assembly or as congregational
music early in that assembly. The texts range from deep theological statements
about worship to easy-to-digest, come-and-celebrate tunes, designed to draw
worshipers into participation. These songs are categorized as CALLS TO WORSHIP.
q Some
of the songs are composed for the purpose of performance, whether by choir,
small ensemble, or soloist. Some have choruses that invite a congregation to
sing along, but many are intended to serve as “special music.” They are all
called PERFORMANCE MUSIC.
q There
are also some humorous pieces, which are not directly used in worship, but can
be used lightheartedly in the assembly. They range from musical theater pieces
to “Totally-Out-of-Context Scripture Songs.” They are all categorized as NOVELTY
SONGS.
q Likewise,
a collection of DRAMA SKETCHES of
several different moods is included. Of course, the sketches cover a wide range
of emotions; but most have humor as part of the brief sketch.
HOW IS CBYOND RELATED TO CBC/CCU? Cincinnati
Christian University contains Cincinnati
Bible College (CBC), which trains worship leaders and musicians. The school
has programs in church music (B.M.), and worship
ministry (B.S. or B.A.).
For information on studies in Music and Worship Ministry, click http://www.ccuniversity.edu/mw/index.html Part of the vision for CByond Music, Inc. is to help the best students attend
the college or seminary without going into personal debt. We want to provide
scholarship money for them through this publishing company.
Therefore, CByond Music’s name is spelled so as to indicate its relationship with the school, and its finances are dedicated to enhancing the school. Since Ken’s salary is paid by the school, he is free to be able to provide this service of CByond Music without cost. The
music is written by composers from around the world. The writers all share a
similar conviction: they want to give their music to the Body of Christ. They
all voluntarily make a sacrifice to give their materials away freely, with
little hope of any significant income from them, believing that the Lord rewards
the generous giver.
In return, CByond Music, Inc. helps to disseminate their material, and to get the songs and sketches into the hands of those who will make use of them in ministry. This company is at the front of a new wave of publishing, which uses technology and generosity to bless the church. It is truly an idea whose time has come. WHY DO YOU RETAIN COPYRIGHT WHEN YOU GIVE AWAY YOUR MUSIC? In
the ancient church, sincere saints wrote music anonymously, and it was given for
the glory of God to the church at large. That was before copyright laws, and
before money could be made by unethical exploitation of music.
We want to follow in the spirit of those saints. However, it seems reasonable
that we must keep names and copyright information with songs. For example, our
church’s general policy is not to use songs unless we have permission from the
copyright holder. If we cannot find the source for permission, we can’t know
whether we may use the song or not. So, we attach names of writers and publisher
with the song, and insist on others keeping them as well.
There
is also a biblical concept that we should give honor to whom honor is due, as
well as that a laborer is worthy of his or her pay. So our writers should be
given credit for their work, and they should be given whatever money is fair to
them.
That is why we ask users to treat our material with respect, and use it within legal and ethical bounds. Read Copyright Law Information if you want more information. HOW DO I SEND YOU MY OWN MUSIC?
HOW "FINISHED" DOES THE MUSIC HAVE TO BE? We will look at all submissions as we are able. Some composers have only a melody and lyrics. Some add guitar chords. Others may add a piano accompaniment or choral parts. Some even add orchestrations. The more work that you do, the easier it is for us to publish your music. We will work with you if any minor changes need to be made.
IN WHAT FORMS DO YOU ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS? You
may submit music in any (preferably more than one) of the following forms:
CAN I STILL SELL RECORDING OF MY MUSIC? Yes. Since you still own the copyright, you get to do anything you like with your music, including making arrangements and recordings, and selling recordings or even the copyright itself.
SHOULD I COPYRIGHT MY MUSIC BEFORE I SEND IT TO YOU?
You already did. Under the U.S. Copyright Law of 1976 your song is automatically protected from the time of its creation. If you want you can register that copyright with the US Copyright Office. Registration does have significant benefits, including greater financial liability for infringers on your copyright.
ARE YOU GOING TO COPYRIGHT MY MUSIC? We
copyright our work on your music (any editing and page layout), but the real
ownership of the copyright is still yours.
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