Normally for Bar, Pub, and Restaurants, playing music in the background compile a perfect not with their customers and add values by creating a perfect atmosphere. It helps them to generate more revenue and deliver a delightful experience to their customers. But there is a break in it. If you want to play recorded music in your Bar, Pub or Restaurant, you need to obtain a music license. It covers the right to play music from CDs, MP3 players or the background music systems.
Rules and regulations
Playing music from a music streaming service doesn’t mean that you have the right to play music in your Bar, Pub or Restaurant. The Copyright Act of the unites states 1976 shields the sovereignty of the art of an artist. It declares that only the author/creator has the right to holding, trading or utilizing the art/creation. Under this law, you do require a music license to play the music in your bar. Live performances also require a different type of license, which is costlier than the music license. If the Live performer plays the cover song, the administration is accountable to ensure that cover is licensed. There is no catch in playing the original.
Performance rights organizations
Performance rights organizations also known as (PROs) have the right to grant the music license. The PROs collect licensing charges from the Bar, Pub or Restaurants and pay to the artist or the author of the copyrighted music. There are three major PROs:
- ASACAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers)
- BMI (Broadcast Music International)
- SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers)
These PROs collect subscription from the Bar owners by giving them a music license and then distribute that money to all artists by the preference of their music. All these PROs cover different artists. So, you must take care that you must play the songs that cover that PROs’ artist range. As per the law, PROs can sue you around $700-$800 for playing the unlicensed song. So, the best way is to Take a license from all these three PROs to play it safe.
Normally the price of a single PROs’ license is around $400 to $2000 per annum.