What is Playlist?
Playlist is an add-on subscription for Christian Worship: Service Builder to assist churches in leading congregational singing for worship. For congregations that do not have a trained musician to lead the music of the service, Playlist offers high-quality recordings of hymns, psalms and liturgical elements recorded by professional church musicians for playback through your church’s sound system.
Can you adjust the number of stanzas?
Yes. You’ll choose your stanzas while preparing your music list and Playlist will automatically stitch the recordings for each selected stanza into a custom mp3 file for playback.
What do I need to use Playlist?
To export music, you will need to have an active subscription to Christian Worship: Service Builder with the Playlist add-on. Once downloaded, the exported files can be played on any media software and sound system that supports the mp3 file format.
Why do exports only come in mp3 format?
The music in Playlist is formatted to the standard mp3 file format to offer higher quality playback with the expressiveness and musicality of professional church musicians as well as allow for a wider range of playback capability for many different media players.
How is Playlist different from HymnSoft?
Differences between the two products and how their approaches to on-demand music are highlighted in our article here: https://www.christianworship.com/articles/2021/11/11/playlist
Can a playlist be prepared and exported on one computer and played on another?
Yes. If you prepare and export a playlist on one computer the playlist could be transferred to another via a flash drive or other means.
If I choose not to sing stanza one of a hymn, will the introduction still be included?
Yes, the introduction is incorporated into the export regardless of which stanzas you select.
Can I save files for future use? Why do I need to download new files every time?
To maintain accurate reporting on usage, a new playlist should be exported for each unique service.
Can I use the preview button to playback music within the service?
It is not recommended to use the preview button on the Service Builder site for the actual playback during worship for several reasons. Usage of recordings will not be automatically recorded in the system without an export so the user will be liable for manually reporting all use of recordings. The quality of the sample will not be as high as that of the exported file. And as the samples are streamed through the web-based site, the playback may be affected by your internet connection.
Can I use these files in my preferred production program or media player?
The files Playlist exports are mp3s. They can be used in any player/program that supports the mp3 file type.
Can the tempo be adjusted?
Due to the nature of encoded recordings, the tempo of the music is fixed; typically, it is based on suggestions found in the Accompaniment Edition.
What recordings are available in Playlist?
Currently, most of the musical content found in the Christian Worship Hymnal is available, with some liturgy components from lesser-used liturgies still being added. This includes all the psalms found in the front of the hymnal.
Over time, content from the Christian Worship: Psalter will also be populated in the system, dependent on completion of recordings and obtaining permissions from copyright holders.
Playlists does not include gospel acclimations or tones.
As content is continually added, we will update the following spreadsheet on what is and is not available in a current Playlist subscription. This will be updated regularly and will display the last updated date:
Christian Worship: Playlist availability
Can you upload your own recordings to My Worship Resources?
Playlist does not have storage options for custom recordings. If you have recorded music you would like to add to your service, it’s recommended that you export the service proper using Playlist, and add your recordings to the contents of the exported folder.
Can you choose between organ and piano?
Each element in Playlist is either recorded using the organ or, for those in a pianistic style, piano. For a complete list of what is available in Playlist and with which instrument, please visit the Playlist Availability spreadsheet.
Are there Gospel Acclamations/refrains/tones in Playlist?
Gospel Acclamations and refrains are not available at this time, though refrains may be added at a later date. Tones will not be available.
Are there short and long versions of the introduction?
For most elements, if an introduction was included in the Accompaniment Editions, that introduction is used in the recording and cannot be edited. If no formal introduction was indicated in the Accompaniment Editions, the introduction was at the discretion of the recording performer. For hymns, it is most often a single full stanza.
Were the Psalms set up to be done with cantor?
If a Psalm indicates specifically a cantor part, it was recorded as such (like Psalm 136A as an example). If no cantor is specifically indicated, the Psalm was recorded as though the congregation would sing it in its entirety.
Am I responsible for reporting Playlist usage?
Just like bulletins and presentations, use of a hymn or liturgical element will be reported when your Playlist is exported. It's important to note though, that stream and podcast use is not reported automatically and must be reported manually. If recordings are only used for live services, no additional reporting is required.
Does my annual Playlist subscription fee cover streaming licensing?
No. Streaming Playlist files requires separate licensing directly with third-party licensing agencies such as OneLicense or CCLI.
Are there other pricing/purchase options available other than an annual subscription?
Due to the number of permissions and usage factors involved, the annual subscription is the only option available.
Can teachers use Playlist for non-worship services?
Yes, those who would like to use recordings in the Playlist feature for classroom and other non-worship related situations, can do so by creating a service and then going straight to "Prepare Playlist". Since this is a non-worship setting, a bulletin or presentation should not be created or exported, as to allow reporting only for the recordings themselves. It is important to note that Playlist downloads are meant for one-time use. This helps ensure that copyright holders are compensated for each download/use. The Playlist Terms of Use do not allow downloading for long-term storage of a local mp3 library. Downloads are for single use and should be deleted after that single use.