As most venue owners know, you can't play music for your customers' enjoyment without paying a licensing fee to BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC -- the three performing rights organizations that cover pretty much the gamut of commercially-available music for public performances.
ASCAP has gone after 26 venues in 17 states for non-payment of these licenses, with hefty fines the likely result. New York's Hiro Ballroom and Chicago's O'Hare Gaslight are the only ones on the list that rang a bell with me; the varied nature of the list makes it clear that ASCAP is trying to send the message here that no matter where your bar, nightclub, restaurant, or other venue is, ASCAP reps are listening.
The fines could be enough to put some of these clubs out of business, but the situation is not as dire as some believe. (Idolator, for instance, posted today that ASCAP had sued an Arizona bar for $210 million, but it turns out the original source -- the Tucson Citizen -- had originally posted that figure in error, and that ASCAP had actually sued the bar for $210,000.)
Here's a full list of the affected clubs:
Salty Dawg II, Tucson, AZ
Foxfire Room, N. Hollywood, CA
Pelican Isle, Huntington, CA
Skylark, San Francisco, CA
Snake Pit, Denver, CO
Humphrey's East, New Haven, CT
Kashmir, West Palm Beach, FL
Tequila Willie's, Melbourne, FL
Sanctuary, Atlanta, GA
Rome Street Tavern, Carrollton, GA
O'Hare Gaslight Club, Chicago, IL
Club Paradise, Angola, IN
Registry, Crown Point,
IN
Red Maple, Baltimore,
MD
Holiday Inn Southfield, Southfield, MI
Razzles, Westland, MI
Janae's West, St. Louis, MO
Cody's Chinese Bistro, Raleigh, NC
Manhattan on Pearl, Nashua, NH
Fusion 215 (f/k/a Nest), New York, NY
Montage Grill, Rochester, NY
Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY
Doghouse Bar & Grill, North Royalton, OH
Nuno's Bar & Grill, Austin, TX
Oakley's, Waco, TX
Ibiza Dinner Club, Seattle, WA
