[Dixielandjazz] BMI

[Steve Barbone]

Published in The American Rag - April Edition:

>"Please remove the Mission Gold Jazz band listing from the Gig List Guide
>section. We are no longer officially playing at the Swiss Park because of the
>intervention of B.M.I.

>This organization is killing OKOM. I'm going to write and essay on my thoughts
>about B.M.I.

>John Soulis, Leader
>Mission Gold Jazz Band
>Fremont, California.

You can bet this has happened all over the USA because BMI, or ASCAP or
SESAC, or all 3 have demanded exorbitant fees from small venues.

If a venue is lucky, they may only have to pay $600 a year per organization
to have a live band play. ($1800 per year is $34.62 per week)

However, sometimes, much more is demanded and so the venue just kills the
live music and plays the radio which in most cases, is free of license fees
at the venue since the station has already paid them.

Below from ASCAP's FAQ.

"Permission for radio and television transmissions in your business is not
needed if the performance is by means of public communication of TV or radio
transmissions by eating, drinking, retail or certain other establishments of
a certain size which use a limited number of speakers or TVs, and if the
reception is not further transmitted (for example, from one room to another)
from the place in which it is received, and there is no admission charge."

(Certain size generally means less than 3700 seats)  BOTTOM LINE?

These bastards are killing the performance of live music in small venues.
Bars with TV can show the Ken Burns Jazz Show, or any jazz show on cable,
without paying a fee. Or tune in to a music radio station, and pipe it all
over the Restaurant, without paying a fee. But if your little band plays
live . . . BMI et. al. extort money from the venue. What's wrong with that
picture????

You can fight back, (posted previously) by playing songs written prior to
January 1, 1923 and not using copyrighted arrangements of those tunes, if
those specific arrangement were copyrighted after January 21, 1923.

What I do is keep a list of public domain tunes, along with a statement at
the bottom of my list, that the arrangements are my own and therefore not
subject to BMI, ASCAP or SESAC music police extortion. I offer this list to
venues which have been bothered by, or think they may be bothered by the
music police.

OKOM has enough problems without over zealous music police trying to kill
small band, live music.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone