[asterisk-users] Royalty for On Hold Music ?

[SIP]

Jay R. Ashworth wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 05, 2007 at 07:28:05PM -0400, SIP wrote:
>   
>> Lots of information around about people who've had issues with 
>> rebroadcasting the radio in their business establishments. However, it 
>> is rare that ASCAP et al go after anyone but the big moneymakers. The 
>> old Bloom County rule still holds true: sue the one with the money.  For 
>> instance, in 2005, Dennis Rodman ran afoul of ASCAP because he was 
>> playing music over the speakers of his restaurant. Even HE complained 
>> rather often that it seems ridiculous that the only way to get 
>> permission to play music over the speakers of your local establishment 
>> is to pay utterly prohibitive licensing fees to ASCAP each year, but 
>> there's little that someone so public could have done to avoid being 
>> noticed.
>>     
>
> ASCAP and BMI annual blankets aren't actually that expensive.  A live
> music venue run by some friends of mine had both, and for 535 fire-code
> seating and about 150 nights a year, I think they paid $500 a year to
> each of them.
>
> So, let's decide that songwriting is something worth paying people to
> do (that's who BMI and ASCAP royalties go to, people), and quit
> whining, ok?
>
> Cheers,
> -- jra
>   
Oh I'm hardly whining. Songwriters usually JUST scrape by on their 
music, and are often screwed over both by people who don't pay royalties 
and by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, NPMI, etc, who are perfectly happy to adjust 
the royalties paid out in such ways as to maximise what they get to keep 
and minimise what they have to share. I'm merely explaining that, if you 
WANT to tempt fate and not pay performance royalties for on-hold music 
or music in the lobby of your office, then you have less of a chance of 
having to worry about it if you're a tiny shop than if you're a big one. 
And also that there are ways around having to pay yearly fees by using 
royalty-free music or writing your own.

However, if you get caught willfully performing copyrighted music 
without paying ASCAP, BMI, et al, you're liable for a $100,000 fine 
($20,000 per song if it's not deemed willful) per song.

N.