Legallity Of Hosting A Karaoke Show
 

just a question.i have friends that are being sued for hosting a karaoke show by the music industry, they were told ' that they were having people sing songs that they didnt have the rights to"..music industry are sending people to karaoke shows and writing down songs that cust. are singing" these songs are from a cdg's that they bought from a karaoke store..and imported to hoster.. question is do we ( karaoke host/hostess ) need permission to play these songs from the music industry?

read this http://forum.mtu.com/showthread.php?t=1892

[quote=Beavis]read this http://forum.mtu.com/showthread.php?t=1892[/quote you really are a one liner..but anyway i read most of the threads and im not sure if any of the threads answered my question..but in any case..does this law applies to house bands, they too plays tunes from original groups..

Not sure that applies to his question, Beavis. Who is suing these people? Is it the karaoke producers association (KAPA?) or is it ASCAP or BMI representing the original artists?
If these friends are "performing" in a public location (bar, resturant, social club, etc) then the license is the reponsablity of the establishment not the KJ. The place where I do my shows just recently renewed their license with BMI. I told them they need to get one with ASCAP as well to cover all.
If they are performing at private parties of less than 300 (according to producers own website) a license isn't needed. I can't imagine a party with over that number.:e

..thanks for that reply.. im not sure who these ppl are..so its the responsibilty of the establishment to get a license then, the place where i play cant hold that much ppl anyway, about 100 at least..and not all of them sings..maybe 15-25.

A recent law suit in NY was done by ASCAP. However, the ASCAP lawyer reported the bar owner had been contacted 27 times before it came to him. Thus, nothing was done to comply, which will really make ASCAP, BMI and others mad.

If you have songs that are not purchased, you are potentially at risk. Even one "free" song can be damaging as it proves you are not diligent about insuring you purchased ever song.

A KJ who "buys" 35,000 MP3G songs on a hard drive for $400, should be buried under the jail... IMHO. They know full well the did not buy their songs, and the law will not accept it either.

Songs cost in the range of $1.00 to $5.00. If you are buying for less, seriously question it. The licensing fees are $0.18 to $0.27 per song.

ASCAP / BMI fees
 

According to the owner of the bar where I predominantly work, these agencies charge based on seating capacity and the type of entertainment provided. There is one fee for having a band, one fee for having a jukebox, and one fee for having a DJ/karaoke - all are based on the frequency that each occurs. If any mix of these is provided, the fees for each are combined. These fees are definitely the responsibility of the bar owner, not the provider of the music.

importing singers disks?
 

Many singers have been coming to my shows for years & I bought all the disks. Now that people are buying their own & bringing them to the shows, they bring the same disks over & over. Some have asked me to upload their songs so that they don't have to bring their disks with them every time. Is this legal? Or do I have to purchase the disk from them, or go out & buy that disk myself to prove I own it?

Based on your wording.

If your ASCAP and BMI licenses are current there shouldn't be a problem with the music portion of the program.
However I can see a potential problem with displaying the lyrics in public for a song whose rights have been revoked (anything written by Garth Brooks) or that never gave the rights in the first place (Don Henley, Glen Frey [The Eagles] etc.).
Scary thought:e
If they could do that the price of those SC8125's on EBAY would plummet (usually $200 to $400)

Talk to your friends and see if you can get more details.

Sam