A cover band these days? No way in hell! BMI sues bar...


If it is a requirement to buy a license to play copyrighted music, then they should have bought one. It is not the bands job to do this, it is the venues job.
It is the same in most countries in the world. If you want to play music wether from a jukebox, iPod etc, or live band, the venue needs license. In the UK, all shops and premises who play music need a PRS license and they buy one for a few hundred pounds.
That license money is then split between all the bands they collect for.
 
When I read the article this excerpt caught my eye "It says, since August 2012, BMI sent the bar 19 letters, called 15 times, and made four visits in person to solicit the bar into buying a licensing agreement." That should've tipped the bar owners off that maybe they should've done some research.

So I did some research

http://www.restaurant.org/Manage-My...ack-office/11-questions-about-music-licensing

After reading that link, I had no idea about restaurants needed to pay fees and I can see that the ones I used to work in were actually covered under the exceptions and that's why we never did.

These guys are screwed IMO. It might not be "right", but this could've been avoided if they did proper research or spoken to other owners before opening their bar.
 
This is common practice here in Cleveland and becoming more and more prevalent everywhere. Bar owners that hire a band, have a jukebox or a DJ are required to pay the licensing fees associated with those things because of the copyrighted music. It's not a problem for most, but the ones that refuse to pay always end up putting themselves in a bad spot. BMI can't go after the performers for these fees because a band simply has to "Break up" or change the name to avoid it...so the venues have to pay. I play 8-10 cover gigs a month all over the area and for most venues the licensing is just a cost of doing business. The money made by having live music is more than the fees. The owners I talk to say the fee varies but is around $10K a year. Yea, it sucks, but it is part of the music business now.
 
It had been a long time since I checked but they post the rates here:

http://www.bmi.com/forms/licensing/gl/ede.pdf

Jukebox is $375 per year. Seems like the venue would need to hold 1,000+ people to hit the $10k mark. In fact, the fees are capped at just over $10k.

Not defending, but I didn't recall it being that steep so I did some googling.


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Somethings wrong with the world today. I don't know what it is.

Wait, what?

First off, sorry, but is it suddenly news that BMI/ASCAP/SESAC are draconian in their collection policies? This is so well known that it's essentially a cliche in the music industry. If anything, I'm surprised they sent the bar so many warnings before slamming it.

And to your "wrong" point, is paying songwriters for their work now suddenly wrong? These companies exist to ensure that songwriters get paid what little money is still available to them to make in the current industry. Bars that don't pay licensing are stealing from artists. Period.
 
First off, sorry, but is it suddenly news that BMI/ASCAP/SESAC are draconian in their collection policies?

And to your "wrong" point, is paying songwriters for their work somehow now not something we're on board with? These companies exist to ensure that songwriters get paid what little money is still available to them to make in the current industry. Bars that don't pay licensing are stealing from artists. Period.
I really don't give a shit about the music ''industry''.
 
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All of the world is wrong. This is just on tiny little thing in it. And in this tiny little thing there are even more things wrong. But in principle, if anyone exploits the music they should pay the piper. I just wish the piper would be run a bit better so artists could make a better living.

And if you don't give a shit about the music industry you should never play a song someone else wrote. Or listen to any music that has been published. So no radio. Otherwise you will be IN the industry. There are lots of things wrong in the industry, but it has been responsible for far and away most of the music in existence. Don't care for the industry? Than don't care for the music.

Could it have been done better some other way? Don't kid yourself. Anywhere there are people working together there will be things wrong. Because people are treacherous and selfcentred by nature and as soon as you have a couple together and there's money changing hands, one or two will start the treachery and grabbing. Haven't found an exception to that rule yet.
 
And if you don't give a shit about the music industry you should never play a song someone else wrote. Or listen to any music that has been published. So no radio. Otherwise you will be IN the industry. There are lots of things wrong in the industry, but it has been responsible for far and away most of the music in existence. Don't care for the industry? Than don't care for the music.

I saw that coming a mile away. You're wrong, and I don't give a shit enough to explain why. I'll leave you all to get in the weeds about it and never resolve anything.
 
I really don't give a shit about the music ''industry''.

Define "industry"

I mean really. If you've ever played anything, anywhere, covers, originals, a CD, MP3, stolen or litigate, you have participated in the "industry". And if you break the rules of that industry, in the eyes of those of us that support our families with money earned off of that industry, you are a criminal.

Believe me, I used to think the way you do, until I published my first song, and suddenly the reality of it was that it has to be enforced, or my family doesn't eat. That's kinda important to me.
 
They used to go around to all the bars that had music. Some of the guys got a commission for all the $$ they collected in the name of copyright.

I am a former new Yorker and 10 years after I got out of Viet nam I went to Canada to visit an old girlfriend. Figured I might as well pick up some spare cash by playing some acoustic gigs - man, was I hassled. Not dissing Canada, it was pretty much the same for me in Florida back in the 80's and 90's.

BTW, I agree, songwriters "need" to get paid. But do they really see any of the $$ the bar owners give to the collectors? Good question I think
 
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