[asterisk-users] On-Hold Music

[Tilghman Lesher]

On Friday 11 February 2011 16:37:49 Danny Nicholas wrote:
> Hi gang,
> 
>             In 500 words or less (if possible), please explain what is a
> legal music-on-hold file?  My boss hates the stuff provided with the
> distribution and I figure that I'm asking for trouble if I take my Les
> Mis tracks and run them through Audacity and SOX to make new files.

The proper licensing authority in the United States for hold music is
BMI (Broadcast Music Inc).  If you use music for MOH which is not royalty-
free, then BMI requires a payment for each trunk line per year which is
using such music.  If you want to use for-royalty music, it is very
possible, but it will be a continual expense.  Not paying the fees upfront
will cost you dearly in legal fees at the point at which you are caught
(it's really only a matter of time).

http://www.bmi.com/licensing/entry/534929

For future reference, I now work for a company which gets paid with fees
generated by the music business (including MOH), so fair warning:  if you
announce that you're illegally evading such royalties (note that the use of
royalty-free music, as is distributed with Asterisk, is perfectly legal),
you may get a visit from the BMI enforcement division shortly thereafter.

-- 
Tilghman