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RE: Is karaoke legal?
Quote: Ryanf86_2000 I was just wondering if the RIAA would sue me for publicly performing at the local bar?
Interesting thought since there are a lot of bars with karaoke nights, and since those lyrics are presumably "intellectual property", I was wondering about this.
Not that I'll stop, but it was just an amusing thought.
Venues (such as bars) are licensed by BMI (Broadcast Music International) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Artists and Performers... I think). These same two organizations license radio and TV stations so that they can legally playback music. In theory, if a DJ plays a song in a club or if a folksinger warbles a Bob Dylan song, the venue should pay a royalty fee to BMI and ASCAP. The same would be true for karaoke
The fees for small bars and clubs are pretty reasonable, actually. I've not heard what they are for years but it used to be something like $75 per year for a bar with a DJ back in the 1970s. Even if it is four times that today, that's not an unreasonable price for a bar.
As for whether someone would sue you for performing... well, that's another question entirely. :-)
--Bob |
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