Copyright News

[Brenda Holloway]

John A Swartz wrote:

> Actually, I'm very ignorant on this.  Are bands suppossed to pay royalties
> when they cover other artist's songs?  Just to stretch this a little,
> what defines "playing in public"?  If a band has to pay royalties for
> playing a song in a pub, do they have to pay royalties if their friends
> show up and listen to one of their rehearsals?  Can someone clue me in
> on how this works?

No; the venue pays an annual fee to ASCAP and BMI (which in turn pass along royalties
to foreign licensing companies on a reciprocal basis) based upon their size and other
factors. It makes no difference if the music is live or recorded. If you're not playing
in public, you probably have to pay the performance fees yourself for each licensed
work. (www.ascap.com). I don't think you have to pay for rehearsals if it's not a
public performance.

Brenda

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[]]]]]]]] Brenda Holloway       brendah at mbay.net [[[[[[[[]
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