[asterisk-users] Streaming MoH on 1.4

[Jay R. Ashworth]

----- "Olivier" <oza-4h07 at myamail.com> wrote:
> A somehow related question, is broadcasting streaming music as music
> on hold, submitted to any licencing fee ?

I got here late.

The only way you can legally use music as music on hold is if you either pay,
or are not subject to pay, performance royalty money to *someone*.

Who you might pay includes BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC, who have standardized annual
blanket licenses for that sort of thing, which permit you to play any
music to which they've been assigned the right to collect and disburse such
monies.

Or, if you have recordings directly from an act who have not sold their rights
to, say, a music label, they could license you directly.

Or you could play the music yourself.  But note that if you do *that*, while
you aren't liable for performance royalties, you as a performer will own the 
songwriter(s) money, usually in the form of compulsory mechanical royalties.

How those are handled if you record your own arrangement of Hey Jude once and 
loop it on music on hold, I'm not clear on.

No, IANAL.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                   Baylink                      jra at baylink.com
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