On Mon, Aug 06, 2007 at 12:18:36AM -0400, SIP wrote: > Jay R. Ashworth wrote: > > ASCAP and BMI annual blankets aren't actually that expensive. A live > > music venue run by some friends of mine had both, and for 535 fire-code > > seating and about 150 nights a year, I think they paid $500 a year to > > each of them. > > > > So, let's decide that songwriting is something worth paying people to > > do (that's who BMI and ASCAP royalties go to, people), and quit > > whining, ok? > > Oh I'm hardly whining. Songwriters usually JUST scrape by on their > music, and are often screwed over both by people who don't pay royalties > and by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, NPMI, etc, who are perfectly happy to adjust > the royalties paid out in such ways as to maximise what they get to keep > and minimise what they have to share.
Ok, I retract 'whining'. :-) I'm not in a position to speak about whether the PRI's are screwing their members or not, but I would assume they're not screwing them as badly as record companies who own their performers masters. > I'm merely explaining that, if you > WANT to tempt fate and not pay performance royalties for on-hold music > or music in the lobby of your office, then you have less of a chance of > having to worry about it if you're a tiny shop than if you're a big one. Sure. > And also that there are ways around having to pay yearly fees by using > royalty-free music or writing your own. Not always, which was the point of my original followup: not all buyout music avoids BMI and ASCAP licensing; the buyout is on the *recording and sync rights*, not always the performance licensing. > However, if you get caught willfully performing copyrighted music > without paying ASCAP, BMI, et al, you're liable for a $100,000 fine > ($20,000 per song if it's not deemed willful) per song. I wonder how much of *that* money goes to the songwriters. ;-) Cheers -- jra -- Jay R. Ashworth Baylink [EMAIL PROTECTED] Designer The Things I Think RFC 2100 Ashworth & Associates http://baylink.pitas.com '87 e24 St Petersburg FL USA http://photo.imageinc.us +1 727 647 1274 _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
