The Day the Music Died

Last week, open mic night was canceled at the Red Raven.  Most people were probably not aware that the Red Raven even existed in the basement level of a small building at the far end of Roberts Street. Most people, that is, except for some of the many young upstart musicians, eager to play a few songs to a tiny crowd. The thing is, open mic is a stepping stone, and for a young musician, it’s quite likely their first foray into a live musical performance. One might even say that without open mics and small venues, the next generation of musicians won’t gain the experience they need to reach their full potential.

So, Who Cares?

It’s a tiny little coffee shop and a bunch of disappointed kids, so what? Who cares, or rather, who should care? It seems logical that the music industry should be shuddering at the idea that the steady production of new talent may be in jeopardy. Well, you might be surprised to know that ASCAP, BMI & SESAC (the big three performance rights organizations vested with the copyright protection for most of the world’s music), are aggressively targeting small restaurants, coffeeshops and the like to pay a licensing fee.

Since the average cost of these fees are in the ballpark of $500 each, per year, it makes it ridiculously difficult for a small venue to pay. We’re not talking about the medium sized venues, most of which already pay dues to the big three; we’re talking about the small venues that usually don’t even have a cover charge. What this is effectively doing is forcing all the smaller venues to cough up a pretty large chunk of change or to cease to play music in their establishments altogether. This includes CDs and DJs since these also fall under their copyright licensing.

Now just to be clear, it is not our intention to allow venues to break the law or infringe on any copyrights. We also believe that musicians need organizations like the big three to protect their intellectual property. It is, however, our opinion that taking the current course of action is both detrimental to the natural growth of music itself, and incredibly greedy.

David vs. Godzilla

According to SESAC’s brochure:

“Under the Copyright Law of the United States, anyone who plays copyrighted music in an establishment is required to obtained [sic] advanced permission from the copyright owner or their representative. Simply, a copyrighted song is property, and no one else can use this property in a public performance without the permission of the owner.”

There is no question as to whether or not the PROs (performance rights organizations) have the legal right to do what they do. We just think it looks desperate to go after a 20 person venue. What’s next, busting someone for having a musical ringtone? Sound absurd? Well, it is ASCAP’s position that if you play your ringtone in public you or the ringtone provider should have a lisence. in 1996 ASCAP went after the nation’s summer camps, including the Boy Scouts, for singing around the campfire… and won! So, it’s not really a question of if the rest of the small venues will be targeted, but more likely a question of when. We’re pretty sure if there is profit to be made, you’d have an ASCAP agent wanting to charge you a fee for singing in the shower.

Open Mic 101

Here’s a crazy thought—why not label the Open Mic sessions “free local music workshops?” Under Fair Use (as outlined by the Copyright Act of 1976), the workshop could validly be considered educational and therefore not an infringement of copyright. And why not? Young musicians are using open mic as a place to learn the craft of music and audience interaction. Where else are they supposed to learn how to play in a public setting?  Most musicians don’t just write 14 or so original songs and put together a band for their first musical venture; they need a place to hone their skills. If the PROs had any common sense they would see that they are cutting down the number of new potential customers.

Enough is Enough

We’re sure that collectively, all the small venues in the country would give the PROs a sizable bounty in dues, but what is also just as likely is that most of them will just cease to play music altogether. That paints a grim image for our local music scene. You can see where this is going. More law suits by the PROs means more money for them to sue business with, which means they can spend more time and money suing everything and everyone they can get their their enormous greedy hands on. What still amazes us is that it is possible to buy a song when it first came out on vinyl, then 8-track, cassette, CD, MP3, ringtone, and oh yeah, that’s only for your use, don’t you dare blast that stereo. How many times are we going to have to pay for the same song?

The PROs have been quite successful at bullying anyone who stands in their way into a quiet settlement, sometimes even forcing them out of business. It’s no surprise since the law allows them to sue violators for $150,000 per song used without their consent. Does that make any sense? Where do we draw the line? Don’t forget that ASCAP controls the rights to the Happy Birthday tune. Be sure to look over your shoulder when you sing it in ANY public place. You should know, you too are in violation of copyright laws. You may be next.

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