Re: Composers should also get paid

["Kelly Coyle" <skcoyle@gmail.com>]

I can only speak for my own establishment, but we were providing the "living jukeboxes" more-or-less as a public service -- I seriously doubt any regular (i.e., small) coffeehouse can recover their ASCAP/BMI fees. We did it because we were kind of wide-eyed about the sort of place we wanted to be, that offered local folks a place to do their thing for other folks that wanted to hear it. If we had done the "no covers" thing, we would have had to book five performers a night to get three sets, probably. (This was in small-town Minnesota.) Ultimately, our performers were just regular people with regular day-jobs who played instruments when they got home from work, music they happened to like. The ASCAP heavy who visited -- I don't know. (Apparently, I can still get upset about it.) As far as I can tell, nobody's interests are served by this system -- it's like an evil plot to remove all delight from music.

On 7/13/07, Jim Bailey <jbailey@wsimail.com> wrote:

Yeah.  I'm sure his job was at least restructured because really...how
many venues are going to feature "public domain" music and keep their
clientele around that are used to hearing a living jukebox?  Yes it was
the venues deal but wouldn't it have been nice for the performer to know
that at anytime the fun police might bust in and shut down his gig?
Lol.

It kinda boggles me that given the laws that we are discussing
here...wouldn't it be in the BMI and ASCAPS best interest to REQUIRE
their licensed venues to put big signs on the walls saying "BMI licensed
venue" or something?

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Fox [mailto:billyfox@soundscapes.us]
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 1:34 PM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Composers should also get paid


Jim Bailey wrote:
> Well under the example given below the piano guy lost HIS JOB because
> he wasn't informed.  Not trying to argumentative or anything.  Just
> trying to get facts straight.
BMI or ASCAP weren't the ones who fired the piano player.  The venue did

because the owner was too cheap to pay the license fee or the fee plus
performer pay weren't offset by increased profits.

Cheers,

Bill