[foxhound]

I just received a call from these jackals the other day. They're nothing but extortionists who come out of the woodwork every so many years to harrass everybody. I think it's when their union membership starts to drop. I have yet to pay them. If I have a juke box, I tell them to go bother the vendor. If I have live bands, I tell them to go bother the bands. This person asked if we had music, and like a dummy, I answered yes. She said I needed a music license to play purchased CDs. I said the royalties were paid when the CD was purchased. She said I was playing them for the public. I said I was not broadcasting on an airwave, using any music for commercials or generating any revenue from it. In the past I have told them (when asked what we did for music) that I come out of the kitchen every half hour and play a set on my kazoo, all public domain songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb, of course. Here's what you do: You tell them to come and listen to every band, every juke box selection and go through all your CDs. They must make a list of which of those artists belong to their organization and who the royalties are paid to, name and address. You will not pay until they can prove you owe anything. If they keep pushing it, you can threaten to charge them promotional fees for featuring their artists in your fine establishment. I have no problem supporting musicians, but a lot of musicians, especially prior to the Big Band era cut record sides for a flat fee and never received any royalties at all, and they and their descendants still don't. Many of them spent their lives in destitution and died broke. If this money was actually going to them or their families, I wouldn't mind. But it doesn't. It goes to fund ASCAP and BMI officials. They can't do anything to you anyway. They'd have to take you to court and it would cost them more than it's worth. Juke boxes are covered under your contract, as already stated. If you have live music, refer them to the band members as they choose what to play. This is the same as me buying tables and chairs and paying a fee to the guy who designed them every time someone sits in one. Ridiculous. I know they will call me back several times before they go away, but they will go away and empty-handed. I'll shut the music off before I pay, but I won't have to. They've been doing this as long as I've been in this business, wihich is 37 years, and I'm sure they were doing it before then. The worst thing you can do is pay them, as now you're marked as a schmuck and they'll never leave you alone.