What other people
have said about ShareSong.org
Your site has the power to open doors. I can see that by the immediate flood of people from all over the world who are suddenly listening. I can’t thank you enough. You will probably never know how much this means to me. In Christ. Rebecca Carpenter
I should mention that we got our first CCLI cheque earlier this year. It was only $10, but at least it means someone in Aus is using and reporting our music. Benjamin Thorn
My experience of putting up songs on ShareSong was quite inauspicious to start with. When I first put my song "Jesus For Prime Minister" on the site someone wrote back straightaway saying 'this song sucks!' Not a great start. But since then I've got messages from people all over the world - from the Solomon Islands through to Romania and all points in between (including Rockton, Illinois!) - saying 'Yes Yes Yes' to "Don't Be Afraid" -'it puts my mind at rest'; 'Cool' to "Love Reigns" - 'I'm using it for my youth group'; email after email telling me that they love my 'punchy, thought provoking words' and telling me to stick with it and to 'keep inspiring people'. So I guess I will. I hope to put my next set of songs on ShareSong by the end of the year. ShareSong is a great way to share the heartbeat in hard times. Cheers. Dave Andrews
"I just wanted to thank you for this website. I am a high schooler who was trying to find some songs for a bible study group to sing, and your site made this search easy."
Of all the places I've been and posted, ShareSong.org has given me the most amount of exposure. Because of ShareSong.org, I've had CD requests from Israel, Sweeden, Singapore, India, Zambia, and South Africa. Thanks for your willingness to serve. Love Bridget Willard
I just wanted to thank you for this website. I am a high schooler who was trying to find some songs for a bible study group to sing, and your site made this search easy.
It feels really good for my stuff to finally be out there somewhere for others to experience. I think the voting thing is pretty cool because it's a good way for me to see that people like it. I've gotten some feedback from people and it's all very positive. Soon we'll be doing another project and I'll be sure to send it to you. I really appreciate your site!! Melissa from ThrowingAway
Thanks for all your hard work on the sharesong site. I've had emails from all over the world letting me know that songs like "That the world may know" have ministered to and impacted people... which is of course very encouraging... so... I look forward to continuing to update you with the latest songs and pray that people all over the globe will be blessed by the service you've created :) Daniel Thornton, Sydney Australia
Really glad to have made contact with you - you've really been a great encouragement to me! I've always thought my songs were simply just a vehicle for the message God has given me to share (which I know is true). But you have really encouraged me to believe that they're actually of a good quality apart from that and that God can use them far beyond what they're currently being used for! Thanks for helping to inspire greater vision and faith in me. Adrian Rowse, Melbourne Australia
Today I got my
second check from CCLI, and while it certainly wasn't anything to boast
about, I'm thrilled to get more confirmation that churches have been using
my music!
If your songs could possibly be sung by a congregation in church, register
them with CCLI and (of course) share them on the web at
ShareSong.org
and
FreePraiseandWorship.org!
James Moore (ASCAP, Weed ICP)
Let me commend you for your desire to provide worship resources for the church and at the same time remain sensitive to the legal copyright issues...
It looks like a great opportunity for the independent songwriters to gain greater exposure.
Thank you for encouraging the church to secure the Church Copyright License.
Rod
Rachinski
Vice President, North America Operations
Christian Copyright Licensing Inc
(CCLI)
I
love what you guys are doing with
ShareSong. Until I discovered
ShareSong, there really wasn't a way
for me to share my music with people outside of my area, even then it was
limited to a handful of churches. I have been able to get my music nationwide
and even worldwide. The thing I really like about you guys is adding
the chords. So many churches and worship leaders are looking for
help with material and some don't have the ability/time to transcribe
songs.
Sorry,
didn't mean to gush, but I really do appreciate all you guys are doing for
local churches and worship leaders around the world.
If you are always looking for new worship songs, this Brisbane based service may be your answer. ShareSong.org provides searchable access to over 1700 praise and worship songs from around the world. Facilities include mp3 downloads, guitar chords, lyrics and song sheets. While I haven't heard of many of the artists, the recording are generally of good to professional quality. Michael Cutter Alive Magazine
I have to admit I was sceptical at first when I heard about what you all do. I spent several thousand dollars to make 1,000 CD's including all final mixing, graphics and all. The idea of just giving it all away on MP3.com and your site to churches and users kind of caught me off guard a bit. But I am learning much more now about how all this works, and the fact that you provide such a vital link between me as writer and the churches who use CCLI songs. So I guess over time I began to see the advantages of you all getting our material into the hands of people that can in fact use the material. Thanks again for your valid ministry and link between the writer and churches. Steve Massey
As a worship leader beginning a new contemporary service and having some difficulty explaining to my song leaders why I think it's important that they give me the song writer's name, much less the copyright info, I am impressed with your site and with the commitment you've made to both the letter and the spirit of the copyright law. I'm troubled by how hard it is for some Christians to understand that violating intellectual property laws is theft, both legally and morally. I also wish I'd searched sooner -- you have a perfect fit for my service tomorrow evening... I've added you to my favourites and I plan to be a regular visitor. Michael Wood Washington
Publishing my music for free on ShareSong.org has allowed me to reach a potential audience of millions without having to concern myself with the enormous costs of publishing and marketing via the traditional means.
My goal is to share my God-given gifts with as many people as possible - not how much profit I can make from doing so. Ben Thorn Brisbane, Australia
I'm feeling some little voice deep inside that is telling me there is a major revolution going on here. On the surface it doesn't look like it's such a very big deal, but I think (I could be wrong) this could be the beginning of the end of the strangle-hold that the establishment has on the supply routes to the church. Wouldn't it be something if God has found a way to sidestep the people who require that we give them our copyrights before they will use our songs! Wow, what a great God... and He's just so smart! I am delighted to be a part of the revolution. Lenny Smith author of “Our God Reigns” New Jerusalem Music
What you have
done with this site is a wonderful way to help writers and singers share
their love of music and God with the world. God bless you and your
co-workers for putting such a website available for people like me.
I am constantly when I have the time, submitting music to different
publishers, to have my material recorded or published in a music book.
Its a hard task and difficult to not give up. Thanks to your site I can
upload these demo songs, and you will make it heard. I would love
to come across a church one day and hear them singing and praising with
one of my songs. Richard
Roblin at Stummin' Keys Music
As
a worship leader I love your site. I am always looking for new material,
and our small church fellowship doesn't have the funds to be continually
purchasing new praise and worship books. Your kind of site is especially
helpful to us, and the quality of the available music is good. Andrea
Gear
I
have found this website very useful. It has also inspired me to have confidence
in my own song-writing ability. Carol
Unwin
As
a worship songwriter, I'm very happy to see something like this come into
existence. I'm going to begin submitting songs real soon! Matthew
Vohlmer
When
you manufacture a run of CDs and songbooks, it's easy for your focus to
shift from ministry to marketing and merchandising. All of a sudden, you
are asking yourself, "How am I going to recover all the money that
I've put into this 'product'?" Internet
distribution helps me to avoid making a massive financial outlay in order
achieve my goal of getting the songs into people's homes. Then I can get
on with the preaching, teaching, serving and relationships with the people
who need it more than they need to pay for another CD and music book. Cedric
Taylor
The
Word in Song I
think that the website is a brilliant idea. It encourages many people
to listen to Christian music and to hear about our faith through the music.
I also think that having the music available in sheet format is great.
I am planning to try and play a few of the songs with my church music
group and possibly in some of our services. Thank you for all the time
and effort put into this site, it is really worthwhile. Keep it going. Kimberley Suffolk,
England
I have been
hoping and praying that a third party (i.e. someone outside a record label)
would start such a site. Worship leaders need a reliable, unbiased
source of praise and worship music without constantly having to pay for
everything - chord sheets, lead sheets, etc.
Paul
Borderkircher
RPJ Artists Group
ShareSong.org
is the Linux of Worship Music!! Bill Cooney
This is the
most AWESOME site... how do you dedicate so much of your time to this endeavour?
I am completely impressed and enthusiastic about using these artists new
songs.
Thank You for this wonderful site. I will pass this to other praise team
leaders along the way.
This is
fantastic! I was fair dinkum blown away by the professionalism of the
site. The resources you offer are outstanding. The amount of work that
has gone into this site is phenomenal. There are A LOT of people out there
that are really going to appreciate all this one day. I say "one
day" because at this stage I can see you have just begun your vision...
"Despise not the day of small beginnings". And this is hardly
a small beginning! You are obviously dedicated and committed to the cause
of providing worship resources for the Body of Christ. I commend your
efforts with all my heart. Keep it up. I believe
if you maintain this standard of excellence and service you will attract
world-wide attention eventually and become a tremendous resource - I'm
serious - I haven't found such a helpful site as yours. I really
do think very highly of your work on your website - I think it will become
a major resource for the Body in the years ahead and I'm honoured to be a
part
of it.
I've
never been much of one for chasing the limelight but it is very
encouraging when you see how much other folk are getting blessed by your
music. I can't remember who said it, but someone said, "music is it's
own reward". I think SS has provided that for a lot of artists. There
is often not much financial gain involved for the average church musician,
so their reward certainly isn't there, but it has to come from
somewhere.
It's
important I think for musicians to feel validated in some way or
their efforts dry up for lack of appreciation. Sometimes
you can feel isolated in your serving in a local church setting too.
SS has really helped change all that. I can only rejoice with you in
your/our success, knowing that it helps so many others.
Ray
Watson I
have been a member of ASCAP since April 1971 when I had two of my pop
songs published by Standley Music. I now have my own Revlah Music company
registered with ASCAP. This in itself doesn't guarantee success; it just
means my foot's in the door. Writing
songs is the easy part. Getting them performed and promoted is the hard
part. I think you have hit on a good idea here. Keep up the good work!
Ken Halverson I find
it hard to get my songs used regularly at my own church. It' seems
sometimes as if there's a bit of the "home town prophet
syndrome" happening. I hope that through
ShareSong.org
I can get my songs "out there" to be used by people all over the
world for God's glory. Brisbane,
Australia
Holy
carp (yes, carp!), is the Sharesong site looking sweet or what!? I've been
checking in every few months and - WOW!! - I am so impressed by it right
now! Well done, Marty and Marty-minions! It really has taken off, ne? That
is to say, it no longer looks like something a mate of mine did. It has
BIGNESS. A life of its OWN!! Woo, spooky.
It's
really encouraging to encounter every so often a good idea that actually
worked. Because it was a good idea.
Praise
Jesus!!
Patrick
Reid
Brisbane,
Australia This is THE
most amazing site on the web for praise & worship music! Thanks you
Lord & to your team! Wow! Keith
Berry Cape
Town, South Africa
Bristol,
England
Mark Oster
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection
Huntington Beach, CA
The Secret Place
http://raywatsonsecretplace.homestead.com/index.html
Rolling Hills Est., CA, USA
