Originally Posted By: CocoTex
I'm a proponent of royalty licensing and fees, and the rights of songwriters, bands, musicians, or whoever holds rights, copyrights, publishing rights, etc. It amazes me when I see folks disregard them...unlicensed use. You know them. Some make livings off "Tribute" gigs.

"Oh, Paul Simon doesn't care if we play his songs...he'd say he has enough money..."

Uh, no, he DOES care.

Certainly, actually getting paid by PROs like BMI and ASCAP, or Spotify, has some huge problems, but that's another discussion.

When cover bands play somebody's protected music, somebody pays a fee... usually the establishment hosting the music. I've heard plenty of stories just around here of BMI and/or ASCAP agents approaching venues and making sure they pay for a license to host live music. In some cases they've demanded back pay where live music has been available but no license was ever paid for.