Famous US Venues Refuse to Pay Songwriters
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has filed 10 separate copyright infringement actions against bars and restaurants nationwide, arising out of the unauthorized public performance of its members’ copyrighted musical works.
“Music is enormously valuable to bars and restaurants, creating an emotional connection with patrons and providing the right ambience to attract and retain customers,” commented ASCAP Executive Vice President of Licensing Vincent Candilora. “Hundreds of thousands of well-run businesses across the nation recognize the importance of paying music creators to use their music, and understand that it is both the lawful and right thing to do. However, each of the establishments sued today has decided to use music without compensating songwriters. By filing these actions, ASCAP is standing up for songwriters whose creative work brings great value to all businesses that publicly perform their music.”
Over the past two years, and in many cases longer, ASCAP has made numerous attempts at the establishments listed below to offer a license and educate the business owners about their obligations under federal copyright law. Two of them, The Ranch in Austin and the Barbary in Philadelphia, were delinquent licensees that were terminated for non-payment at the end of 2015. Despite these efforts, the owners of the establishments listed below repeatedly have refused to take or renew a license. Instead, they have continued to perform the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP’s songwriter, composer, and music publisher members for the entertainment of their patrons without obtaining permission to do so.
Establishment (City, State):
FuZion (Huntington Beach, CA)
Studio 8 (San Jose, CA)
Black Bear Saloon (Hartford, CT)
Sportsline Bar & Grill (Lawrenceville, GA)
Perception Lounge (Chicago, IL)
Stonewood Tavern (Peabody, MA)
The Tangiers (Minneapolis, MN)
Arden Kitchen & Bar (Port Jefferson, NY)
The Barbary (Philadelphia, PA)
The Ranch (Austin, TX)
Source: ASCAP
