boycott-riaa.com - Article: BMI BEATS UP ON KARAOKE BARS

BMI BEATS UP ON KARAOKE BARS

Posted by George D. Ziemann on November 10, 2003 at 11:54 AM (printer friendly)

by Moses Avalon

I want to thank BMI. For years I have had to listen to God-awful amateurs try to sing "Born in the USA" via a Karaoke machine in just about every local bar I go to. BMI is going to put a stop to that.

Jealous that the RIAA gets to sue everyone for piracy, BMI is sending their own type of litigious message; they sued an Indianapolis Karaoke bar for not paying them licensing fees for the pop tunes that are part of the karaoke juke box in the bar.

The lawsuit claims that Parrotheads Bar and Grill failed to pay licensing fees for using songs such as ``God Bless the USA'' and ``Old Time Rock and Roll," during their weekly Karaoke night.

Many songwriters view BMI as the cops of performance royalties, without which, songwriters would see virtually no money from juke boxes, radio play and arena performances. However, in a climate where the record industry has appeared overly litigious, this action will likely be met with some public retaliation. Especially in light of the fact that BMI lost some significant ground some years back in Federal court; restaurants argued that people come there for the food not the music and so the they should not have to pay performance fees for the tunes they play while you dine.

BMI argued that they should then try selling food & drinks without music and see how well their business does. A logical argument that courts did not buy. They decided that a restaurant with only 14 tables or under 1500 square feet was exempt from payments to BMI and ASCAP. This decision has cost songwriters tens of millions a year according to BMI spokespersons.

So, after sitting at the losing end of one can't lose argument, let's hope, for the songwriters' sake, that BMI has changed lawyers for their Karaoke campaign and hired a decent PR company.

Will this mean we can kiss Karaoke nights goodbye? Please, don't tease me.

Many legal-eagles will be watching this one. Considering that the maximum damages that I think BMI can seek is about $1000 per venue, I'm not sure this has the same sharp, sexy teeth that the RIAA suit does with its potential claims of $150,000 per infringement.

User Comments (These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)


ldjollyroger	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 12:55 PM Next time you go to a birthday party, have your royalty fees ready for "Happy Birthday To You." There is nothing surprising about this-the woulded dog attacks on all fronts.

gdZiemann	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 1:14 PM Karaoke puts musicians out of work. It is a disease.

nitedreamerxp	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 1:31 PM This has to be as about dumb as it gets I mean really, I guess they haven't gotten tired of pissing people off yet Hmmmmm you'd think just how all this suing is going to do on the business they do? in the long run fun is not in anymore I guess it's gotten so serious about money and forgot about fun.

INeedAlover	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 1:39 PM Karoke doesn't put musicians out of work. Most likely, bars that have Karoke don't have enough money to hire musicians anyways. And most Karoke nights are on mid-week nights (like Wednesday) to try to draw crowds in.

compmore	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 1:43 PM George. I can't believe in a hundred years that I have to disagree with you. what I've seen about Karaoke isn't a way to get cheap enteratainment. People, paying customers, love the oprotunity to unwind and perform (no matter how badly) with their favorite tunes. It's like a talent night where you can drink and make fools of yourselves and have fun. That's why businesses do it because it brings in customers.

scayf	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 1:50 PM Well, this isn't any worse (better?) than that Canadian songwriter/composer/whatever suing the dentist for playing his tunes in the waiting room here a while back.

gdZiemann	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 2:13 PM compmore -- I sincerely respect your point of view. I am extremely bigoted on this subject. It's not worth arguing about, but I will never change my opinion of karaoke.

GnutProductions	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 2:19 PM The karaoke bars i visited last year in china seem to do well..full buffet private luxurious rooms in high rises, its a big business in china and other places abroad.I saw the same thing in japan, karaoke may not be as popular in the west but in asia and other places in the world its big business.These business bring in alot of revenue and do the artist on the karaoke boxes get any compensation im not sure? Most of the tracks on the karaoke machines that i encountered had tons of western music. Artists bob marley,steppenwolf the beatles and all the rest. Although not the original artists singing the tunes, its the orginal melody and lyrics so im not sure if thats a loophole they have?Who regulates these busineses ran buy the ????? who are selling woman and all the rest in these establishments.Seems like the riaa could get more money from them than kids downloading files.Any one know more? Im curious how this all fits into the present copyright laws.

Cantido	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 2:20 PM Ugh. Now kareoke will not be missed, but BMI is evil anyway.

CodeWarrior	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 2:41 PM Karaokitis- A newly described disease whereby persons who may be tone deaf, insist they can give Elvis a run for his money...lol.... I see George's point AND compmore's point...(Code breaks into his version of One is the Loneliest Number by Three Dog Night....eat your heart out Chuck Negron :) lol.......

compmore	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 3:04 PM I hope I didn't seem like I was arguing. you're right, it's not worth it. for someone as talented as you are George I can easily see why it would grate on you. I always agree with every post of yours that I've read. That's why I was suprised at having to disagree. cheers. oh and Code, don't give up your day job. LOL

cshell-run	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 4:17 PM I do karaoke every weekend and I must admit, although it is fun, some of those people need to stay off the stage LOL. Karaoke discs are extremely expensive. I could be wrong but it was my understanding that some of the money from the purchase of these discs go towards paying royalties. That being the case what is BMI's problem here? Another point I want to mention is that on many of the discs the lyrics and even the music differs slightly (although not much) from the original. Perhaps that is a loophole to avoid the copyright issue.

pepe512000	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 4:22 PM My son is a musician AND a karaoke dj in a nightclub.He does well at both. I've heard some really great singers out there. There are millions of clubs across North Amercia, so to BMI? good luck!

pepe512000	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 4:23 PM Sorry, spelled America Wrong ~pepe

GnutProductions	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 4:36 PM right cs-shell im curious about that as well..hardly seems it would be a loophole as u can copy a small amount of soemones tune or sample it and be sued. But i guess it depends where in the world your are.Im more concerned about places where there is actual substantial revenue like asia. Another point I want to mention is that on many of the discs the lyrics and even the music differs slightly (although not much) from the original. Perhaps that is a loophole to avoid the copyright issue.

Jazzmary2U	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 7:36 PM .. cost "tens of millions of dollars?!! PUH LEEZE! :rollseyes:

Jazzmary2U	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 7:38 PM Code.. add buzzing from alcohol to the symptom list :lmao: Also, while some of the singers can be quite good.. I think they should PAY the audience for some of the beer soaked screamers that seem to think they can really rock..

WoodheadVocals	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 10:11 PM Hmm...I can't remember exactly what was legally stipulated, but I do remember that first of all, for a company to reproduce a song for karaoke, the license must firt be obtained by whoever has ownership of the song...that in itself costs a pretty penny, which can account for some, if not most, of the high price of "quality" cd's. It really doesn't matter exactly how it reads though, since, to my understanding, BMI appears to be attacking the actual "performance" and not the copyright issue. Of course, I feel this is ludacris since, as you have all so aptly put, not everyone sounds like Mariah Carey or the Boss. As far as a bar having a karaoke night and the legallities of that; I remember reading, when starting my karaoke buisness, that so long as the venue hosting the even has obtained rights through licensure to broadcast radio or jukebox, karaoke is covered as well. To address the sometimes subtle differences in karaoke versions of a song and an original; a disc manufacturer will hire their own musicians to replicate a song for karaoke and when that happens you are subject to another musicians interpretation of a song...basically that means some will be dead on while others will fall short of exact replication...this also includes lyrics. As far as karaoke being the "video" that killed the musicians "radio star" I am both a musician and karaoke enthusiast/dj; honestly, I've been able to drum up much more exposure for both by doing either on stage or in bars.

NiceGuy2003	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 10:42 PM Ah, well I've been waiting for this story and even tried writing it myself, but just couldn't get it long enough. When I heard about this, about the only thing that stuck in my mind was the evil music law guy saying "These people need to learn that music isn't free and it never should be." Hopefully this'll be fought. They bring down organized Karaoke and the next thing you know they'll be arresting you on the street for singing to yourself. "Music is free, has always been free and forevermore shall be free!" -- unknown music fan.

zippythechip...	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 10:53 PM "This decision has cost songwriters tens of millions a year according to BMI spokespersons." I despise the commonly accepted business practice of claiming non-revenue that never existed in the first place as a legitimate monetary loss. The "tens of millions of dollars a year" that BMI is talking about don't exist. They never did. There is no loss. BMI just wants us to think they're out something because they're not raking in as much money as they think they should... poor babies. I wish I could claim a loss just because I don't think I make enough.

Justin42980	Date: November 10, 2003 @ 11:07 PM Give me a break BMI. Once again you should be happy that people actually want to sing songs that you release, otherwise where would you be now BMI? You wouldn't exist.. So once the cd is sold, give people the right to do with it as they please, even if that means singing god-awful kareoke in bars... The problem is that you've grown money hungry and lost all respect for the consumer..

ThreeBears	Date: November 11, 2003 @ 12:24 AM I can see the not so distant future now. A bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, singing/humming my favorite tunes while walking down the street, the RIAA cops nab me and slap me with a lawsuit for not paying a licening fee before singing in public. * SIGH *

MrDude	Date: November 11, 2003 @ 12:39 AM Know what I think is funny? The Republican Congress and administration talks about how litigation and trial lawyers are way out of control. They only seem to speak of individuals who sue the corporations. It seems it is perfectly okay by big corporate giants like BMI and the RIAA to to sue individuals such as grandfathers and impoverished teens for rediculous amounts of money. Go figure?

Gottagetsome...	Date: November 11, 2003 @ 8:08 AM As someone who uses karaoke a lot (and yes, I have taken voice/singing lessons so I have a decent voice) I think this sucks. BMI ought to be grateful that people are wanting to sing songs by their artists.

boycotter	Date: November 11, 2003 @ 10:58 AM That's gonna cause alot of bars to lose business.. even though I can't stand Karaoke myself.. I just don't go on the nights they have it.. I have to tell my friend who is the manager of a bar that does that! Thanks for the post!

indieWarriors	Date: November 11, 2003 @ 2:14 PM BMI and ASCAP is a joke. Basically for the benefit of being a recognized large publisher to "protect" your copyrights..artists are expected to sign away their rights to these organizations so they can license them and keep track of whereever or whatever your songs are being used and "fairly" compensate your royalty. If youre an indie songwriter who wishes to have a chance to get their songs used by an artist..hopefully a major label artists...this is for you. Otherwise..indie musicians typically form/register their own publishing company and copyright the songs.

sub-kelvin	Date: December 18, 2003 @ 2:47 PM Ok i don't know about anyone here but when i pay for music i pay to hear the artist... NOT joe blow in the suburbs wailin' his brains out poorly. Of all the karaoke bars i've been to the same people get up and sing every week and usualy sing nearly the same songs. I'm not going to pay for that... and if you are forgetting WE WILL be paying for that because the bars aren't going to cover an additional cost the patrons will. - I'm becoming more and more fed up with the music industry every day. I applaud musicians like Smashing Pumpkins that put there last album out on the net for free due to the dispute with the record company.