Do restaurants pay performance rights organizations (PRO) for rights to use music? Yes, most do, and if not they are at risk, and the risk seems to be growing. I've been casually playing standards at restaurant gigs for the past 10 years and it's my observation that over the last few years the PRO's have significantly stepped up enforcement.

One club owner in my neighborhood had a place for about 5 years but had no previous club experience. He simply didn't know. PRO's came at him for such a significant amount for back payment that this was his "last straw" and he shut the place down (it's a grueling business). His lawyer (once he found once competent in this field) told him to negotiate and settle as PRO's are backed by federal law with many decades of case history. Lawyer said if it came to trial the first thing they would do would be move it to a federal court in NYC.

I mentioned this to a friend who plays singles in Austin and he said he's seeing this same sort of thing there.

It's been the law for decades and probably neglected by PRO's but looks to me like they are now focusing on restaurants and clubs trying to replace revenues no longer available at the album/CD point of sales. It's generally not a significant expense if addressed up front and I understand they will negotiate reasonably if a club wants to get into compliance, but make no mistake they can and they will come down hard if resisted.