

Restaurant ordered to pay BMI $30K for "playing four unlicensed songs" - secretwhistle
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110815/11503015533/restaurant-owner-ordered-to-pay-bmi-30450-illegally-playing-four-unlicensed-songs.shtml

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Aloisius
I'm a bit confused. Playing a song in a restaurant should be considered a
public performance. While you can pay the yearly licensing fee instead of
paying the statutory rate, you should also be able to pay the statutory rate
for a public performance which shouldn't be more than a couple dollars for
four playing songs in an average sized restaurant.

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WettowelReactor
Welcome to RIAA logic.

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shpoonj
I spent a couple years as a tour manager(baby sitting bands on the road) and
this write up seems a little naive.

Not because it isn't ridiculous that BMI wants that money, but because I've
been in a handful of bars with walls COVERED in letters from ASCAP. This isn't
new or uncommon. A mix CD can get you in a lot of trouble.

