Hey everyone!

I have a question about music licensing. My lawyer informed me that the music played in a studio during lessons should have some sort license in order to be used publicly. Even purchased music falls into the same category since it was purchased for "personal" use. I was just wondering if anyone knew anything more on the subject. Are there different criteria for show pieces, does it depend on the size of the show, do all studios attain a license upon opening and if so is there some sort of "blanket" license to cover all music. It would be pretty impossible to attain one for every single song that may be played in the studio wouldn't it? Just curious and a little nervous! With the recent crackdowns in the music industry I'd like to make sure I cover all bases!

Thanks!

Legally, one is supposed to be covered with a licence.

In the UK it is under the banner of PPL-- the States have a lic. provided by ASCAP. It used to be predicated on business volume ( yrly fee )

Individual songs ( one exception apparently is Happy B/day )are not licensed .

http://www.ascap.com/index.html

In the States most of your music licencing is under ASCAP or BMI.
Usually if you look at your music it will show under one or the other.
We carry both in our studio.
The licencing is tied to the studio location only but if you moved you can transfer to the new location.
The fees are based on uses for the music, there is a category for ballet, ballroom etc and how many students you have.
Most public places that play music are required to carry licencing for the music they play. This is so that the performer gets their royalities and keeps the rights to the music they perform.It is different for live music or bands playing. Both BMI and ASCAP have websites where you can get your licencing done online. Usually for a one time performance it is not as critical.

Fees usually run a few hundred dollars a year per each organization depending on student numbers. I suppose you could get by with one licence if you choose to only play music registered to one group.

Dear Rhythmbds,

In my opinion, they seem to get you coming and going! Not only do you have to pay for the cd,pay to play it publically, but for us ballroom dancers/studios, they charge us more to use our music, that, in some instances would typically be past the copyright infringement of 20+ years old!!( I think this statement is correct...but I'm still learning!)

I'm working with ASCAP right now before we open our doors. Once you open this can of worms, rest assured they won't lose track of you! We thought we were going to open the first of the year and I've been hounded to pay my license ever since I've contacted ASCAP about it. We may not even open until April or May and have numerous calls and emails to pay, even though we haven't opened yet.

I'm a bit taken aback by the fact that ballroom studios have to pay almost twice as much as a 'combination' studio, which in my opinion would use far more recently released music selections than say our music. Ballet studios that have Hip Hop and Jazz programs that use this style of music as an example.

I believe you could get around the fee by contacting every single artist and their said label, but who wants to go through that??? The fee seems nominal once you look at the hours that it would take to get this done! I'm sure that's why ASCAP and BMI were born in the first place.

If anyone knows about the use of a dj license...I'd like to know more on that subject. I've heard that this license would cover many areas that are seemingly extra for a studio...use of music in advertisements or websites, etc.

In any case...good luck with your endeavors! Don't Sweat the small stuff...just sweat! Happy Dancing!

Hi, in the UK, most of this is organised through the PRS (Performing Rights Society), but it is not always necessary to apply for an individual licence if you are using a public hall for your lessons, performances, they will often hold a PRS lience which will cover you, some will include an element for it within their hire fee, others will absorb it themselves in order to encourage bookings for their function facility.
Alan

In UK the position is slightly more complex than either terence2 or alan suggest.

There are two sets of rights recognised in relation to the use of copyright recorded music:

Performing Right Society (PRS)
licenses the performing right in copyright music on behalf of composers and music publishers; and

Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL)
licenses the public performance, broadcasting and cable programme rights in sound recordings on behalf of record companies and performers.

Strictly speaking, if you compile your own collections on CD or otherwise, you may also need a license from the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS), which licences the making of mechanical copies (i.e. recording onto a CD, tape, video or DVD) of copyright music on behalf of composers and music publishers.

A complex subject.