NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - July 30, 2007) - The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announced that it has filed 26 separate infringement actions against nightclubs, bars and restaurants in 17 states.
In each of the cases filed today, the business establishment has publicly performed the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without obtaining a license from ASCAP to do so. ASCAP reached out to each of the establishments repeatedly over a significant period of time before taking legal action. In every instance, the establishment refused to obtain a license, but continued to perform ASCAP members' music without permission, resulting in the filing of the infringement actions.
ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. Those licensed by ASCAP include any establishment or business that wants to perform copyrighted music publicly.
"ASCAP is simultaneously filing these 26 actions to create awareness among music users and the public that it is a Federal offense to perform copyrighted music without permission," said Vincent Candilora, Senior Vice President of Licensing at ASCAP. "Taking legal action is always ASCAP's last step in a long process of contacting, informing and educating business establishments of their obligations under the Federal Copyright Law. With many of these cases, the process has been going on for over a year, so they have had plenty of time to do the right thing."
Any business using copyrighted music has the opportunity to obtain permission to do so lawfully, through acceptance of a license covering the use of over 8.5 million copyrighted songs and compositions. Nearly 90% of the license fees ASCAP collects are paid as royalties directly to songwriters, composers and music publishers. The balance covers ASCAP's operating costs, which are among the lowest in the world for a performing rights organization, and the lowest by far in the U.S.
Frequently Asked Questions about licensing can be found on ASCAP's website at http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html. The establishments (listed below) have performed publicly the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without receiving their permission to do so, resulting in lost income for these music creators.
Establishment, City, State
Salty Dawg II, Tucson, AZ
Foxfire Room, N. Hollywood, CA
Pelican Isle, Huntington, CA
Skylark, San Francisco, CA
Snake Pit, Denver, CO
Humphrey's East, New Haven, CT
Kashmir, West Palm Beach, FL
Tequila Willie's, Melbourne, FL
Sanctuary, Atlanta, GA
Rome Street Tavern, Carrollton, GA
O'Hare Gaslight Club, Chicago, IL
Club Paradise, Angola, IN
Registry, Crown Point, IN
Red Maple, Baltimore, MD
Holiday Inn Southfield, Southfield, MI
Razzles, Westland, MI
Janae's West, St. Louis, MO
Cody's Chinese Bistro, Raleigh, NC
Manhattan on Pearl, Nashua, NH
Fusion 215 (f/k/a Nest), New York, NY
Montage Grill, Rochester, NY
Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY
Doghouse Bar & Grill, North Royalton, OH
Nuno's Bar & Grill, Austin, TX
Oakley's, Waco, TX
Ibiza Dinner Club, Seattle, WA
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 295,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP also represents the repertories created by the international affiliates of 90 foreign performing rights organizations. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
-----
Sounds fair... until you read this...
-----
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/58778.php
$210 million music copyright lawsuit filed against bar
A.J. FLICK
Tucson Citizen
A group of music licensing companies has filed a $210 million copyright infringement lawsuit against an East Side Tucson bar.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, names Michael Cesario, who holds the liquor license for the Salty Dawg II, 6121 E. Broadway.
Artists and songwriters represented by the 13 companies suing Cesario include Huey Lewis & the News, Paula Abdul, Color Me Badd, Taylor Dayne, Aretha Franklin, Atlantic Starr, Dave Koz, Tommy Page, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Chris Isaak and Janet Jackson.
The copyright infringement suit is one of 26 filed Monday against bars, restaurants and nightclubs in 17 states, according to a press release from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
No details on how the Tucson bar allegedly infringed on ASCAP copyrights were immediately available or whether it included jukebox, karaoke or live tunes.
According to the press release, each establishment sued "has publicly performed the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without obtaining a license from ASCAP to do so."
"ASCAP reached out to each of the establishments repeatedly over a significant period of time before taking legal action," the press release says. "In every instance, the establishment refused to obtain a license, but continued to perform ASCAP members' music without permission, resulting in the filing of the infringement actions."
Cesario did not return a call seeking comment.
Music copyright companies are on a campaign to collect royalty fees from restaurants, bars and other establishments that offer live music by performers who play songs written and made famous by other musicians.
It comes on the heels of a massive music industry crackdown in the past several years on illegal downloads from the Internet. Whether it's a professional recording taken from a Web site or an accordion player singing a Jimmy Buffet tune in a small venue, the industry is working to collect royalties for whoever wrote the songs.
When a songwriter signs with one of the licensing companies - the country's three biggest are BMI, SESAC and ASCAP - his or her music is copyrighted.
SESAC spokesman Shawn Williams said money collected by the licensing companies provides most of the income for many songwriters.
"The law provides damages ranging from $750 to $150,000 for each song performed without proper authorization," Williams says.
Gannett News Service contributed to this article.
Notes: ASCAP suing venues who have cover bands, DJ's etc
In each of the cases filed today, the business establishment has publicly performed the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without obtaining a license from ASCAP to do so. ASCAP reached out to each of the establishments repeatedly over a significant period of time before taking legal action. In every instance, the establishment refused to obtain a license, but continued to perform ASCAP members' music without permission, resulting in the filing of the infringement actions.
ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works. Those licensed by ASCAP include any establishment or business that wants to perform copyrighted music publicly.
"ASCAP is simultaneously filing these 26 actions to create awareness among music users and the public that it is a Federal offense to perform copyrighted music without permission," said Vincent Candilora, Senior Vice President of Licensing at ASCAP. "Taking legal action is always ASCAP's last step in a long process of contacting, informing and educating business establishments of their obligations under the Federal Copyright Law. With many of these cases, the process has been going on for over a year, so they have had plenty of time to do the right thing."
Any business using copyrighted music has the opportunity to obtain permission to do so lawfully, through acceptance of a license covering the use of over 8.5 million copyrighted songs and compositions. Nearly 90% of the license fees ASCAP collects are paid as royalties directly to songwriters, composers and music publishers. The balance covers ASCAP's operating costs, which are among the lowest in the world for a performing rights organization, and the lowest by far in the U.S.
Frequently Asked Questions about licensing can be found on ASCAP's website at http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html. The establishments (listed below) have performed publicly the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without receiving their permission to do so, resulting in lost income for these music creators.
Establishment, City, State
Salty Dawg II, Tucson, AZ
Foxfire Room, N. Hollywood, CA
Pelican Isle, Huntington, CA
Skylark, San Francisco, CA
Snake Pit, Denver, CO
Humphrey's East, New Haven, CT
Kashmir, West Palm Beach, FL
Tequila Willie's, Melbourne, FL
Sanctuary, Atlanta, GA
Rome Street Tavern, Carrollton, GA
O'Hare Gaslight Club, Chicago, IL
Club Paradise, Angola, IN
Registry, Crown Point, IN
Red Maple, Baltimore, MD
Holiday Inn Southfield, Southfield, MI
Razzles, Westland, MI
Janae's West, St. Louis, MO
Cody's Chinese Bistro, Raleigh, NC
Manhattan on Pearl, Nashua, NH
Fusion 215 (f/k/a Nest), New York, NY
Montage Grill, Rochester, NY
Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY
Doghouse Bar & Grill, North Royalton, OH
Nuno's Bar & Grill, Austin, TX
Oakley's, Waco, TX
Ibiza Dinner Club, Seattle, WA
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 295,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP also represents the repertories created by the international affiliates of 90 foreign performing rights organizations. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
-----
Sounds fair... until you read this...
-----
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/58778.php
$210 million music copyright lawsuit filed against bar
A.J. FLICK
Tucson Citizen
A group of music licensing companies has filed a $210 million copyright infringement lawsuit against an East Side Tucson bar.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, names Michael Cesario, who holds the liquor license for the Salty Dawg II, 6121 E. Broadway.
Artists and songwriters represented by the 13 companies suing Cesario include Huey Lewis & the News, Paula Abdul, Color Me Badd, Taylor Dayne, Aretha Franklin, Atlantic Starr, Dave Koz, Tommy Page, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Chris Isaak and Janet Jackson.
The copyright infringement suit is one of 26 filed Monday against bars, restaurants and nightclubs in 17 states, according to a press release from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
No details on how the Tucson bar allegedly infringed on ASCAP copyrights were immediately available or whether it included jukebox, karaoke or live tunes.
According to the press release, each establishment sued "has publicly performed the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members without obtaining a license from ASCAP to do so."
"ASCAP reached out to each of the establishments repeatedly over a significant period of time before taking legal action," the press release says. "In every instance, the establishment refused to obtain a license, but continued to perform ASCAP members' music without permission, resulting in the filing of the infringement actions."
Cesario did not return a call seeking comment.
Music copyright companies are on a campaign to collect royalty fees from restaurants, bars and other establishments that offer live music by performers who play songs written and made famous by other musicians.
It comes on the heels of a massive music industry crackdown in the past several years on illegal downloads from the Internet. Whether it's a professional recording taken from a Web site or an accordion player singing a Jimmy Buffet tune in a small venue, the industry is working to collect royalties for whoever wrote the songs.
When a songwriter signs with one of the licensing companies - the country's three biggest are BMI, SESAC and ASCAP - his or her music is copyrighted.
SESAC spokesman Shawn Williams said money collected by the licensing companies provides most of the income for many songwriters.
"The law provides damages ranging from $750 to $150,000 for each song performed without proper authorization," Williams says.
Gannett News Service contributed to this article.
Notes: ASCAP suing venues who have cover bands, DJ's etc
