How to avoid fines from Performance Rights Organizations. Try Brandi free for 14 days..
Did you hear about the restaurant that received a letter demanding thousands of dollars for playing three songs? It's true. The business owner sourced his own music and neglected to pay proper licensing.
Why do businesses need to pay performance rights for music played in their space? First, you need to know that playing music in a place where people gather is considered a public performance. When you purchase an audio .mp3 or CD, you are buying for personal use only.
When you use Brandi Music, you're covered by the license agreements Brandi has with the performance rights organizations. We report and pay fees on your behalf!
Streaming services are not licensed for public use. To quote the agreement you made with Pandora when you signed up for that personal account, "...for your own personal, non-commercial purposes...". Spotify says, "Spotify is for personal entertainment only and not for commercial use. This means it can’t be played in public places such as bars, restaurants, stores, schools, etc.".Yes, you can directly pay a performance rights organization (PRO)for music licensing, however, there are four music licensing organizations in the USA: ASCAP, BMI, GMR and SESAC. You will need a separate agreement with each of these PROs. It's possible to register with just one of these, however many songs have mutliple PRO coverage (publisher/composer). Sorting all this out would be a full time job. Also, you will need to file reports with each organization as well. Why not use a professional licensed business music service to save time and money? That's why we created Brandi Music.
"Oh, it'll close a business," said copyright attorney Rick Matthews in WRAL-TV news interview. He was talking about that restaurant that refused to pay the licenses. The PROs have sued dozens of restaurants and bars, and actually have undercover investigators making visits to establishments throughout the USA.
Damages range from $750 per violation (per song played without a license)up to $150,000, as reported by Lindsay LaVine in Entrepreneur Magazine. East Coast Foods, Inc. was ordered to pay nearly $200,000 in damages and attorney's fees after an investigator hired by a performing rights organization caught the store playing music without a license.
How To Avoid Music Licensing Fines - Easy On Hold
Music Licensing at Wine & Craft Beverage Establishments - Wine And Craft Beverage News
Coffee Shop Shuts Down Due To ASCAP Pressure - Digital Music News
Establishments Sued Over Music - Hypebot
Music Licensing For Business: Real or Scam? - Easy On Hold
Restaurants Sued For Playing Music - Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark
Music Spy from BMI Leads Tampa Bay Nightclub To Federal Court - Tampa Bay Times
Small Businesses Un-pleasantly Surprised - Palo Alto Bar Assn.
German immigrant to the United States, Paul Heinecke, founded SESAC - Society of European Stage Authors and Composers - to represent European pubishers in America. SESAC music was regularly performed by Duke Ellington, Woodie Herman and Count Basie into the 1950s. It wasn't until 1970, however, that SESAC began signing composers in addition to publishers. From that time forward, more and more genres have been represented in the SESAC repertoire.
The first performance rights society in Canada was created by the United Kingdom's PRS (Performing Rights Society). It was founded as the Canadian Performing Rights Society (CPRS)in 1925. BMI (from the USA) set up its Canadian division in 1940 to license its repertoire in Canada. Involvement by ASCAP and the Canadian Government led CPRS to change to CAPAC to establish independence from both entities. In 1970 BMI Canada Ltd. became PROCAN.In 1990 CAPAC and PROCAN merged to become SOCAN.
BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) was founded in 1939 to represent songwriters in emerging genres, like jazz, blues and country. It was set up by the National Association of Broadcasters as a lower-cost alternative to ASCAP, which raised license costs (likely necessitated by the Great Depression). BMI attracted new composers by paying them the same amount as established composers, an innovation at the time. BMI has offices in Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York and Puerto Rico.
ASCAP is the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, established in 1914 to protect the rights of composers and to collect fees for public performances of their work. ASCAP was founded by a group that included composers and lyricists working in New York City. John Phillip Sousa and George M. Cohan were early members. With the advent of radio, ASCAP was able to collect performance fees for radio broadcasts of its member's compositions.
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