Here’s another bonehead move from the wonderful people who have brought good music to a grinding halt by signing and encouraging the shitiest of artists over the last fifteen years.

These idiots are the ones responsible for the demise of the music industry. CD sales are down, I don’t remember the number exactly, but A LOT this year. For about the fifth year in a row. For a good reason, of course; the music being out sucks. And when I say sucks, I mean like a Vegas hooker in the penthouse suite at the Wynn.

And now this.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard. I guess if you can’t sell music, you may as well litigate for it.

The crux of the matter is that bars and restaurants are supposed to pay for music that is played in the establishment. I know from experience that most places subscribe to one or more music subscription thingies that cover this or are supposed to. However, The good folks in the music industry are now suing the shit out of everybody.

“ASCAP says that besides broadcasting songs over the radio, television and Internet, the definition of performing copyrighted music includes playing it "any place where people gather," with the exception of small private groups.
For restaurants, that includes playing songs as background music, by a DJ and even music-on-hold over phone lines, according to ASCAP's Web site.

"As long as it's [played] outside a direct circle of friends and family, it is considered a public performance," Candilora said. "A musical composition is somebody's property."

Basically, what they are saying is that if you hire a band to play at your bar, and that band plays a cover song, they want their $.08 or whatever it is nowadays. See, back in the dinosaur days when I was young, the industry wanted everybody playing these songs in bars. They wanted cover bands because they got songs out there and then people who liked them often bought the album. But those days are over folks. It’s easier to sue people, since no one’s buying the shit on the shelves these days anyway.

“ASCAP alleged that a DJ at Ibiza played three copyrighted pop songs without paying a licensing fee, which Candilora calculated would have cost Ibiza $979 a year, considering the size of the venue and the type of performance.

"I think it's absurd," said Eshagi. "Not only DJs have bought that music, I also subscribe to an online music-use service, and I'm also paying the cable company for the same thing. I don't know how many times we have to pay for a song."”

The answer is, you shall pay until blood runs from your ears! Or until the industry starts putting out some decent shit and sales pick up. Don’t hold your breath.