Ascap & Bmi

[Bruce Jr.]

exactly C. Staly

[admin]

Others have told us in the past it would be a US Marshall with a court order, which makes it even more removed as C.Staley points out.

We have Federal Prosecutors, Sherriffs and Deputies, and Police who are hosts at their own shows. They all tell us that without a court order, no one has the right to ask to see your discs.

The old SPIN and KAPA organizations are now basically dead. These, at the demand of Sound Choice who controlled them and paid their bills, were acting with INTIMIDATION AUTHORITY, which is not a legal authority. They would try to catch you with a copied disc, then get you to sign "out of court" to never do that again. IF... someone signed, that converted from copyright law, which is very weak, to CONTRACT LAW which is AIRTIGHT! Don't ever sign such a document without legal counsel on your side reviewing the document. If any "authority actor" ever demands you sign something like that on the spot, have the Bar's Bouncer "escort" them outside and give them the option to leave or else...

But, if you have a bunch of illegal MIRC or other downloaded MP3+G songs, when someone does catch you, you'll be without ANY equipment. They can even take your van you transport it in and all your computers at your business or house!

Playing MP3+G or ZIP files that you do not own the discs for, and do not have a legal invoice to prove you purchased them, IS... ILLEGAL and you will loose.

[gotrich]

When is the last time a DJ was busted for this? What about places like music match were you pay so much a song or a fee per year to DL music?

[George]

Originally Posted by gotrich

What about places like music match were you pay so much a song or a fee per year to DL music?

I believe all you pay for is the right to play the songs on your p.c.

It's a safe bet that music downloaded from any creditable site is meant for your personal use, not to be duplicated, given away to friends, or used for commercial purposes without express written consent (which I'd also guess you won't get).

Just an opinion.

[frarob]

One piece of topical information and one piece of advice:
There is a third agency that administers public performance rights known as SESAC. It has always been my understanding that the establishment is responsible for the public performance rights, not the individual KJ or DJ.

You may wish to review each agency's policies for public performance:

www.bmi.com
www.ascap.com
www.sesac.com

No passwords or fees.

Once you are armed with information, you may wish to review these policies with the establishments that contract you to provide a service.

[PastMember]

Originally Posted by frarob

Once you are armed with information, you may wish to review these policies with the establishments that contract you to provide a service.

A noble idea, however I'm not on any of the payrolls to interpret and diseminate the policies of the performance societies' information to the clubs.

Club owners/operators are businesspeople and as such, should be able to manage their OWN businesses.

I'm not trying to sound harsh here, but it's a fact of life that you should know all the facets of the business that you're in and not ignore them waiting for someone else (like a KJ) to tell you about the licenses you should ALREADY have.

[George]

Not only are you right there, CSTALEY, but there's also the issue of assuming legal liability by acting as an advisor.

Not the way to go.

George

[frarob]

The first thing I learned in Business Law is "Ignorance is not a defense." Information is King.

[bdayton]

Originally Posted by C. Staley

Club owners/operators are businesspeople and as such, should be able to manage their OWN businesses.

I'm not trying to sound harsh here, but it's a fact of life that you should know all the facets of the business that you're in and not ignore them waiting for someone else (like a KJ) to tell you about the licenses you should ALREADY have.

I am a business owner, (Karaoke Business), And as such, I should know all the facets of the business that I am in ...... Okay, So just where do I find the "Real Truth" about what is and is not legal or illegal?

I can't afford a lawyer, (I do karaoke you know ), So where do I go to find the real "Quotable" truth?

[frarob]

Your best resources are the website for the major administration societies - ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. If you are booked to perform in a commercial establishment such as a nightclub/bar, the club should have the proper public performance licenses in place. It is the establishment's responsibility, not the DJ, KJ, or band. There have been some statements posted that apply the "letter of the law" to a sublime end, such as playing a boom box in the park or on the beach without a license is a violation. By strict, literal interpretation, it is: so too is the slammed import hot rod with the booming "thump thump" stereo in the lane next to me at a traffic light that I can hear with my windows up and the news on the radio. As far as your library, if it is a commercially released disc, you have no problem - see what I cut from the BMI website in a previous post. If it's a burned disc, the situation is a bit more grey in that you would need to prove that you owned a commercial copy and burned the disc as a backup/safety. Downloaded tracks are more difficult to establish chain of ownership, which is really the bottom line: did you buy the track in either a physical form or through download, or was it "borrowed", meaning most likely burned at no cost and therefore no royalty paid to the songwriter or the studio that owns the accompanyment track. Even if you burn safeties of your catalog, I would suggest that the burned discs be the archive copy and the commercial discs be the performance discs to avoid that potential frustration.

[George]

If you go to any of the industry organization websites: SOUND CHOICE, CHARTBUSTER, BMI, ASCAP, etc, one is obviously going to get their biased slant. That does not say it's not prudent to see how these guys feel about things. They do wheel and deal in the industry.

From what I've observed over the years, the info on these forums posted by ADMIN are probably as well advised as one will find, short of going to the U.S. Copywrite office website and trying to decipher the legalese for one's self, or consulting a good copywrite attorney.

That's just my opinion, but I feel that way because ADMIN usually makes reference to having talked to an attorney, or someone in the Copywrite Office, or some well informed source whenever he does post such information.

Consequently, I feel ADMIN'S posts on the subject have some research behind them. Most of the time they deal with subjects relating to copywrite laws from the KJ perspective.

Like I said, an opinion only.

George

No confrontation intended. We were writing at the same time

[bobcox- with the Lord]

i know of one kj who got caught 3yrs ago they took 3 syst from him and almost lost his home. that was spin with a fed by his side and a warant. and last yr i was talking to a friend in music store when a local dj over heard us and said he just lost his syst for using music he downloaded and did not have disc for. the owner of music store said he knew the guy and he was telling the truth. be careful. Bob