Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones - Idolator Comments

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

Dan Gibson — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:23:51 EDT

@jbailey: BMI may not be commissioned, but ASCAP's reps are:

[from their site]

# Moderate salary base with a generous monthly commission that can greatly enhance annual compensation total
# Commission may include: 10-30% of team revenue

Dan Gibson

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

jbailey — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:28:50 EDT

Restaurants and many other types of businesses have been paying royalties to songwriters and composers in America (and in many other countries) for at least 100 years. This is nothing new. BMI's licensing representatives do not work on commission. Copyright law clearly defines what is a "public performance" and what is not. Singing in the shower, weddings, and birthday parties, for example, are not public. There are only three performing right organizations in America. BMI and ASCAP cover about 97% of all music played in public. Most music played on TV is copyrighted and subject to licensing, not just one song on Monday Night Football. Not all businesses need a license to turn on the TV or radio. It depends on the size of the business and how many TVs (and size) are used. A small business with just one TV or radio with six speakers or less typically doesn't need a music license. The details are in copyright law.

jbailey

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

xboxishuge — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:20:33 EDT

That Monday Night Football thing is a joke, right? That couldn't have have actually happened. No one is that dumb, to charge a business owner a performance fee for something in a broadcast that a TV network already paid the licensing fees on?

Oh god.

xboxishuge

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

KeBove — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:39:49 EDT

God, this is really getting ridiculous.

KeBove

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

Reidicus — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:10:54 EDT

Plenty of musicians actually do get checks from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, so this is one fee that generally does get to the artist, provided they haven't sold/signed away all of their publishing.

Reidicus

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

BawstonSean — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:46:56 EDT

@DanGibson: There are pretty clear guidelines as to who does/does not have to pay. Basically, if you're serving food and your customers can sit down, you have to pay. Retail and services are calculated by square footage and customer traffic. Music venues are calculated by capacity.

It's not as arbitrary as you think, but the PROs have done a shitty job of letting the retail/hospitality industry know how/why it works. PROs are the Moral Orel of the music industry.

BawstonSean

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

hypnotyza — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:27:11 EDT

@joshservo:
well played, sir. well played, indeed.

if i didn't know better, i'd think it was the TV people that have infiltrated the music business and are running it into the ground to bolster TV's sagging popularity. but that would be IF i didn't know better....

hypnotyza

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

Dan Gibson — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:22:10 EDT

@BawstonSean: Evil, probably not, but when you rely on commission based sales people to determine who needs a performance license, there are bound to be some problems.

Dan Gibson

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

BawstonSean — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:45:21 EDT

I have to stick up for the PROs here - ASCAP, BMI and SESAC do a pretty good job of taking care of their writer/artists. They ARE NOT the bad guys - granted, they can be kind of square - but they're not evil. The RIAA on the other hand...

BawstonSean

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

bnb614 — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:58:37 EDT

I wish there was a way to track the $$ and see if any of it does go to the artist, because I would bet little of it does.

There should be an update to copyright law. If you have music playing in the background on a stereo or jukebox and it isn't the REASON people come to your establishment, you pay no ASCAP fees.

Separate the music venues from hole in the wall bars and coffee shops.

bnb614

Coffee Shop Owners: You Might Want To Get Your Customers To Turn Off Their MP3 Ringtones

joshservo — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 15:51:59 EDT

The other day, I was whistling "I.G.Y" to myself in the shower. Next thing I know, a guy in a suit is telling me I owe Fagen $248. Seems fair. Thank god I wasn't whistling "Ruby Baby." Leiber and Stoller's guys are ANIMALS.

joshservo