My understanding is that per song, for songs not in the public domain, you must pay 9.1 cents per song for each distribution. If it's a song administered by the Harry Fox Agency, there is a 500 song minimum? Which would be $45.50? Is this right? So, if you had ten songs that fall under Harry Fox Agency, $455 for selling or giving away up to 500 cd's? And if it's not covered by Harry Fox, you pay the copyright holder monthly?

OK

Mechanical Royalities. These are paid by the Artist/Record Label for the number of Records/CD's Pressed or manufactured to the Copyright Owner, usually a Publisher. The current rate, as set by the U.S. Congress is 9.1 cents per copy for a song up to 5 minutes in length. A bit more for songs that are longer. These are paid to the Copyright Owner, most likely a Publisher who pays the writer's according to what is in the Publishing Contract.

A Compulsory License can be invoked if a copyright owner refuses to issue a license. After a song is recorded and released to the public, anyone can record it and release it by paying the license fee. A Compulsory License can be obtained thru the U.S. Copyright Office. The full mechanical rate is required to be paid when obtaining a license that way. Also Harry Fox requires the full mechanical rate be paid for the license.

The problem I see with venues (and this is in the Portland area--I don't think the ASCOPS venture out into the countryside) is the venues get along without having a license for months, or years, and then get bit, and bitch about it. If the BMI/ASCAP/&c. license were perceived as just another cost of doing business, like the liquor license or the business license, there wouldn't be such a problem. But enforcement is so sporadic and inefficient that never happens.

Joe

"Think about the cost-benefit analysis of that. A major publisher isn't going to be staking out tiny venues looking for local bands covering pop songs without paying 9.1 cents for a handful of CDs. They would, I think, go after people with a much higher profile, or perhaps scan the Internet, rather than troll live venues for that kind of thing."

you're wrong about that - I know of two small clubs that were 'busted' and had to do some creative fundraising to come up with the license fees to continue offering music.

Yeah, it happens all right, and I think this sort of enforcement generally comes from the PROs rather than the publishers.

A lot of small clubs have a very strict No Covers policy that is in theory perfectly okay...but they find themselves in constant fear of slipping up and getting fined hard enough to endanger their business.