{"id":2203,"date":"2016-08-01T18:11:56","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T22:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/easyonhold.com\/blog\/?p=2203"},"modified":"2022-05-13T16:58:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T20:58:01","slug":"businesses-music-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/easyonhold.com\/blog\/businesses-music-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Music Rights: Now 4 Organizations To Pay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Know Your Business Music Rights<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Joined By Global Music Rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Playing background music in your office, store, restaurant, hotel, etc. is an important part of your customer experience. Where you get your business music, however, can make a big difference, financially. That’s because all business music must be properly licensed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid fines, performance rights organizations must be paid. Not just one organization, eigher. In addition to paying ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, you must now pay Global Music Rights, the organization that represents hundreds of artists and writers who have become dismayed with the deals older organizations made on their behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business is playing music by Smokey Robinson, The Eagles, Bruno Mars, Jimmy Buffett, The Beatles, Sheryl Crowe, and you’re not paying a music service to cover your fees, you’re on the hook for performance rights payments to Global Music Rights. A partial list of GMR artists is located here: .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global Music Rights is a for-profit organization that is part of Azoff MSG Entertainment, which is a partnership between Madison Square Garden Company<\/a> and Irving Azoff\u2019s<\/strong> Azoff Music Management.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Irving
Irving Azoff, whose Global Music Rights organization represents many popular artists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Top Music Industry Execs Lead Global Music Rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Vince Avatello, former ASCAP senior executive who headed up licensing for the oldest of the music rights groups, recently told Easy On Hold that for the last two years ASCAP has been collecting licensing fees for artists they no longer represent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Much of the senior management from ASCAP and BMI have resigned in favor of doing business in a new and different way,” Avatello told Easy On Hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Performing Rights Organization (PRO) executives Randy Grimmett and Sean O\u2019Malley run operations and bring with them more than 30 years of collective experience in music publishing. – GlobalMusicRights.com<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Who Must Pay Business Music Rights?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the Copyright Law of the United States, the copyright owner of a musical composition has the exclusive right to authorize the public performance of their copyrighted work (17 U.S.C. \u00a7 106). This is known as the \u201cPerforming Right.\u201d No one can publicly perform copyrighted music without the permission of the copyright owner. Copyright owners have a right to be paid for the use of their intellectual property. – GlobalMusicRights.com<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Would You Pay $150,000 to Play One Song?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your decision to bypass an appropriate music license is illegal. – Global Music Rights<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In legal terms, a portion of the U.S. Copyright Law, 17 U.S.C. \u00a7 501(a), allows copyright owners to seek damages and fees from any user of their music. An article from Global Music Rights states, “…you may be subject to statutory damages of $150,000 for each song performed without proper authorization…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, every time you play a song that is not licensed, you run the risk of huge costs as a result. Read about a restaurant that lost such a battle…<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Business Music Is Illegal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many free or nearly-free sources of business music, but few included payments to all four U.S. based performing rights organizations. Examples of music sources that are not covered<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n