Quote:
Originally Posted by VINMAN
What happens with a cover band playing in a bar? Are they subject to a copyright infringement, since they get paid to sing another artist's songs?
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No, the bar pays a yearly fee to "performing rights organizations", such as BMI, or ASCAP.
These companies, in effect, "represent" all the artists and songwriters who are members. The companies monitor (as best they can), public performances of all copyrighted music, whether it is a public performance, (like a cover band), or a broadcast, (like playing DMX or Muzak in your restaurant.)
So, when T77911S's band plays "Mustang Sally", thoretically, ASCAP will apply a portion of all the money it has collected this year and distribute a little more to Mack Rice, who wrote the song.
Of course, there's not a zillion people working for ASCAP and BMI hanging out in every bar and restaurant in the world tracking public performances, so they use a lot of trends and ratings and statistics to arrive at how to distribute the money they have collected on behalf of all the musicians and songwriters out there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCAP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_Music_Incorporated
http://www.ascap.com/about/