JOIN  |  LOG IN
OREGON RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSOCIATION
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • ORLA Board
    • OHF Board
    • ORLAMS Board
    • Staff
    • Industry Facts
    • Industry Groups
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Restaurant & Lodging Membership
    • Allied Membership
    • Buyers' Guide
    • Cost-Saving Member Programs >
      • Coupons & Discounts
      • SAIF
      • Dell Technologies
      • Clover
      • Hospitality Insurance Program
      • ASCAP
      • BMI
      • Hospitality Partners
    • Lodging Listings
  • ADVOCACY
    • Take Action
    • Compliance & ADA
    • Federal Advocacy
    • Legislative Session
    • Local Advocacy & Leadership
    • Lottery
    • ORLA Outcomes
    • Meet the Team
    • Support PAC >
      • Donate to PAC
  • FOUNDATION
    • Foundation Board
    • Contribute
    • Guest Service Gold®
    • ProStart >
      • ProStart Championships
      • Prostart / CTE Resources
    • SHARE YOUR STORY
    • Workforce Development >
      • Best Practices
      • Hospitality Job Videos
      • Restaurant Ready
  • TRAINING
    • Alcohol Server Training
    • Food Handler Training
    • ServSafe® Manager
    • Crises & Disasters
    • Guest Service Gold®
    • Industry Training
    • Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy >
      • Before You Apply
      • Experiential Learning Overview
    • Webinars
    • Workforce Resources >
      • Best Practices
      • Hospitality Job Videos
      • Restaurant Ready
  • RESOURCES / EVENTS
    • Ads & Sponsorships
    • Buyer's Guide
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Digital Publication
    • ORLA Events >
      • Awards & Recognition
      • ORLA Awards
    • Podcast
    • FAQs
    • Compliance & ADA >
      • Wage and Hour
      • Federal & State Agencies
    • Crises & Disasters
    • Resource Library
    • Sustainability >
      • Reducing Food Waste

Music Licensing Insights...

11/19/2019

 
BMI music
​Inside Licensing: Create a Buzz With Music (Guest Column)

There’s only one thing better than a cold beer and spending a leisurely afternoon in a taproom with friends enjoying craft brews, and that’s having music in the background. Better yet, live musicians playing for the crowd.

Music is used by businesses everywhere because it creates an atmosphere that encourages customers to relax and enjoy themselves. Isn’t that exactly how you want your customers to feel at your establishment? They’ll stay longer, spend more, and tell friends about the great time they had.

But playing music publicly in any business involves more than just turning it on, streaming it, or hiring live musicians. Music, like all intellectual property, belongs to the songwriters and composers who create it, and that ownership is protected under U.S. and global copyright laws. These laws were written with one purpose in mind: to encourage music creators to continue their craft and reward them for their unique contributions to our culture.

How does a business go about getting the permission it needs to play a songwriter’s music? By working with a performing rights organization such as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, or GMR. PROs (performing rights organizations) try to make the licensing process as simple as possible by granting permission to play millions of songs with one license and one annual fee. This saves business owners the immense time and expense of tracking down and negotiating fees with all the songwriters and composers of the music they play.

Some business owners believe that, since they only play live original music, they don’t need a license. That’s not true. The term “original music” generally means music written by the performing musicians. Those musicians, however, may also be songwriters who are affiliated with BMI (most professional musicians are members of a performing rights organization). Writers join such licensing organizations because they’re the vehicles through which songwriters and composers are compensated for the public performances of their music. BMI operates on a not-for-profit basis and distributes 90 cents of every dollar in licensing fees back to its affiliates. That means even if musicians play their own music, they can register their sets and be paid through the BMI Live program.

Another common misconception is that, if musicians are playing live music, they’re responsible for paying their own public performance fees. This is also not true. Just as a bar or restaurant owner wouldn’t ask their bartender to secure the liquor license, it’s not up to the musicians to secure the music license. It’s like any other license a business owner must have, and even if the musicians are hired as independent contractors, the responsibility for licensing can’t be passed on to the performers.

Licensing the music you use will not only protect your business, it will also help ensure the continued creation of great music for you—and all of us—to play and enjoy.

[Article originally published in Spirited Magazine, November 2019]


ABOUT BMI:

Celebrating over 79 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 15 million musical works created and owned by more than one million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. BMI is an Endorsed Service Provider of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association.


Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    Advocacy
    Advocacy CEO Blog
    Alerts
    COVID 19
    Foundation
    Guest Blog Post
    Industry Infographics
    Industry News
    Key Issues
    Legislation
    Lodging Tax
    Lottery
    Membership
    OLCC
    ORLAEF
    ORLA Update
    Portland
    Press Release
    Programs
    ProStart
    Resources
    Taxes
    Tourism
    Workforce

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    RSS Feed

Membership

  • ​Contact Us​​
  • Join ORLA​
  • Member Login
  • Cost-Saving Programs​​

Resources

  • Buyer's Guide
  • ​Advertising & Sponsorship​
  • Key Industry Issues
  • Press Releases

Affiliate Partners

  • AAHOA
  • AHLA | AHLA Foundation​​​
  • NRA | ​​NRAEF | AHLEI​
Copyright 2023 Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association.  All Rights Reserved.
8565 SW Salish Lane Suite 120  | Wilsonville, OR 97070-9633 | 503.682.4422 | 800.462.0619 | Info@OregonRLA.org

Site Map | Accessibility | Privacy Policy
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • ORLA Board
    • OHF Board
    • ORLAMS Board
    • Staff
    • Industry Facts
    • Industry Groups
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Restaurant & Lodging Membership
    • Allied Membership
    • Buyers' Guide
    • Cost-Saving Member Programs >
      • Coupons & Discounts
      • SAIF
      • Dell Technologies
      • Clover
      • Hospitality Insurance Program
      • ASCAP
      • BMI
      • Hospitality Partners
    • Lodging Listings
  • ADVOCACY
    • Take Action
    • Compliance & ADA
    • Federal Advocacy
    • Legislative Session
    • Local Advocacy & Leadership
    • Lottery
    • ORLA Outcomes
    • Meet the Team
    • Support PAC >
      • Donate to PAC
  • FOUNDATION
    • Foundation Board
    • Contribute
    • Guest Service Gold®
    • ProStart >
      • ProStart Championships
      • Prostart / CTE Resources
    • SHARE YOUR STORY
    • Workforce Development >
      • Best Practices
      • Hospitality Job Videos
      • Restaurant Ready
  • TRAINING
    • Alcohol Server Training
    • Food Handler Training
    • ServSafe® Manager
    • Crises & Disasters
    • Guest Service Gold®
    • Industry Training
    • Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy >
      • Before You Apply
      • Experiential Learning Overview
    • Webinars
    • Workforce Resources >
      • Best Practices
      • Hospitality Job Videos
      • Restaurant Ready
  • RESOURCES / EVENTS
    • Ads & Sponsorships
    • Buyer's Guide
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Digital Publication
    • ORLA Events >
      • Awards & Recognition
      • ORLA Awards
    • Podcast
    • FAQs
    • Compliance & ADA >
      • Wage and Hour
      • Federal & State Agencies
    • Crises & Disasters
    • Resource Library
    • Sustainability >
      • Reducing Food Waste