Funeral Music Licensing & Webcasting

Music and Livestreaming

Music Performance and Livestreaming Licenses, Covered

The music performance license that NFDA has offered for over 20 years covers the performance of music (live or recorded) that is played at any funeral service, whether at the funeral home or at another facility, as long as it is performed in connection with a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony.

U.S. Copyright Law requires a music performance license for all establishments that play copyrighted music. Penalties for violating the law can be up to $30,000 or more if the violation is deemed to be intentional and potentially even more in damages to the copyright holder.

While the music performance license covers performances, a different license is required for a funeral home to stream music performances over the internet in conjunction with a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony. Unless they have a separate live streaming license, funeral homes that offer funeral live streaming services are violating copyright laws when they broadcast over the internet any funeral service that contains copyrighted music.

BMI, ASCAP and SESAC NFDA has agreements with BMI, ASCAP and SESAC to offer the only group live streaming license available to funeral homes in the market, enabling you to legally live stream funeral services that include covered copyrighted music over the Internet.

The current rate is $350 for music performance and $65 livestreaming per website for 2026, available to members of NFDA, FAMIC member organizations and NFDA federated state associations. Note: one license is required per funeral home location.

DOWNLOAD LICENSE APPLICATION

Common Questions About Music and Livestreaming Licenses

It covers all songs in the BMI, ASCAP and SESAC libraries — together representing over 90% of copyrighted music. NFDA has also secured an optional add-on covering two additional organizations, Global Music Rights (GMR) and AllTrack Performing Rights, which represent several contemporary artists.

Do I need one license for my whole firm, or one per location?

Music licenses are issued per location. If you have three funeral home locations, you need three music licenses. The livestreaming license works differently — it’s issued per website, so if all your locations use the same website, one webcasting license covers them all.

Does my music license cover services held offsite?

Yes. The NFDA music license covers music performed anywhere your funeral home conducts services — churches, gravesites, schools, private residences or any other venue.

Can I use Spotify or Amazon Music instead of purchasing a license?

No. Streaming subscription services are licensed for personal use only, not for public performance at a business. A performance license like NFDA’s is required any time music is played at a funeral home or service, regardless of the source.

What does the livestreaming license cost, and is it separate from the music license?

The livestreaming license is $65 for BMI, ASCAP and SESAC and $45 for GMR and AllTrack per year. Both are optional add-ons to the music license — it is not included in the base music license fee. It covers an unlimited number of livestreams for the year.

Can I livestream on Facebook or YouTube with the livestreaming license?

The NFDA livestreaming license does cover Facebook and YouTube. However, both platforms have separate settlement agreements with music companies that cause their systems to automatically mute copyrighted music in streams — even if you hold a valid webcasting license. NFDA recommends using your funeral home’s own website, Zoom, Vimeo or a commercial webcasting service to avoid this issue.

Does my music license cover recording music to tribute videos or DVDs?

No. Recording music to a video requires a synchronization license, which is separate from a performance license. BMI, ASCAP and SESAC do not issue synchronization licenses — these must be obtained directly from each song’s copyright holder, which is generally not practical. NFDA recommends using royalty-free music for tribute videos, or playing the requested songs on your music system while the video plays without recording them to it.

If funeral homes cannot record copyrighted songs on DVDs and videos, what is the alternative?

There are two viable options. First, a funeral home may acquire “royalty-free” music on the internet, but you must make sure that it is free to be paid commerically. The other alternative is to play the popular songs requested by the family on the funeral home’s music system from a recording while the DVD or video is playing. As long as the songs are not recorded on to the DVD or video, a synchronization license is not required and the NFDA music performance license allows the funeral home to perform the songs.

What are the penalties for copyright infringement?

For each song that is performed without a license, damages are set by federal statute at a range of $750 to $30,000. However, if the jury finds that the infringement was “willful,” the damages can be increased up to $150,000 per song. In addition, an infringer who loses the lawsuit will have to pay the attorney’s fees of the plaintiff.

Because a violation occurs for each song that is played without a license, the damages in copyright infringement cases can mount up very quickly. In a 2002 lawsuit brought by SESAC against a Pittsburgh area radio station that did not have a SESAC license, a jury awarded $1.2 million because the radio station had played 31 songs from the SESAC library. The award climbed into seven figures because the jury had found that the radio station’s infringement was willful. On top of the $1.2 million verdict, the defendant also had to pay SESAC’s attorney fees which totaled nearly $500,000.

In 2024 alone, violators were forced to pay $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments, with average image infringement cases settling for around $45,000.

The statute of limitations for copyright infringement is three years. Therefore, liability for performing a song without a license will only go back three years from the date the lawsuit is filed.

In most lawsuits brought by the licensing companies, they will use investigators to compile the list of songs performed without a license.

Qualifications and Allied Associations

NFDA has expanded its music performance license program, offering the lowest rates available in the profession.
Because of NFDA’s commitment to allied associations, all FAMIC (Funeral and Memorial Information Council) member organizations and NFDA federated state associations to participate in this offering. To qualify for the $350 music performance license fee, a participant must be a member of one of those organizations. This is the same rate that NFDA members currently receive.

FAMIC members include:
National Funeral Directors Association
International Order of the Golden Rule
National Funeral Directors & Morticians Association
Selected Independent Funeral Homes
Life Insurers Council
International Memorialization and Supply Association

The package license covers all three licensing organizations—BMI, SESAC, and ASCAP. Additional licensing opportunies are available through NFDA for music in the catalogs of GMR and AllTrack for an additional fee. Though the music performance license is available to FAMIC and federated state associations, the program is administered by NFDA, and music performance license payments should be sent directly to NFDA. The license fee does not include membership to NFDA, which provides benefits such as The Director magazine, free marketing and public relations materials, and discounted continuing education

“Music licensing is an issue that has far-reaching effects on the funeral service profession,” says NFDA Chief Executive Officer Christine Pepper, CAE. “Now that the music licensing agencies have granted NFDA this opportunity, we can provide another option for firms in the country, particularly the smaller firm. If a significant number of funeral directors, cremationists, and cemeterians respond positively, we may have even more bargaining power with the music licensing agencies, resulting in an even lower rate in the future.”