It seems that bars across the country had better make sure that they have the proper license to play music in their establishment. If they don’t, they may find themselves in a nasty lawsuit against the songwriters and publishing companies that have copyrights for the music involved.
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is suing about a dozen establishments throughout the country for failing to obtain the necessary licenses to play copyrighted music in their buildings. The cities and states involved include Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
ASCAP spokesman, Jackson Wegener, said the society spent five years reaching out to the targeted establishments trying to get them to cooperate, and have now decided to sue the bars and restaurants that refuse to get the necessary licenses. ASCAP represents over 690,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers and grants licenses to establishments to play the 11.5 million songs in its library.