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Cover Band Rules
- Thread starter MrBruce
- Start date
One local venue owner told the BMI and ASCAP reps that as soon as they showed him the royalties actually being paid to the artists playing original material in his room, he'd be glad to pay the fees. No surprise they were unwilling or unable to do so. His venue did not hire cover acts.
I don't know if the algorithms for payment to writers (not the performers, just the writers) have improved over the years, but back in the 1980s BMI and ASCAP would take all the money and divvy it up based on what songs were most popular at the time. So the year that MJ dropped Thriller he got all the money
I've worked with a singer/songwriter who's been recording since the early 1960s and been on major labels, too. He told me he never received a penny of for airplay or live performance of his songs (whether by himself or numerous covers) in the USA but regularly gets checks from the EU for radio play. Go USA!!!
He's also never seen any mechanical royalties for his over a dozen recordings.
Sounds like your employer needs a better accountant!
I did a session back in the 'aughts and cut 2 songs on an album that was released on a major label. It was essentially a favor for my friend who engineered the sessions. It went well, we had fun and I'd kind of forgotten about it. A couple of years later I got a call from the local musician's union, (of which I was not a member), telling me that I had un-cashed royalty checks in my name from ASCAP/BMI, or some such. I thought it was a scam and wouldn't give up my SS# over the phone. Upon further investigation, I discovered that I did indeed have some "mail box money" coming to me. Woo-hoo! Break out the champaign! Call my broker, stat!
About a month later I received 2 checks for $11 and $14, respectively. I think I bought some strings with it.
But your pal may be entitled to thousands. Might be worth some digging.
Some of my friends have a thing going where they post a picture of their lowest royalty check. The winner so far was $0.11. This was or a guy who has done some pretty major stuff including theme song on a major movie release that has been on Netflix forever.
And that’s a problem. If the bar had a few hundred patrons or more a night that might be one thing, but most clubs down here are lucky to break a hundred these days
Solution: play all originals. Seriously, I have seen all the grocery stores in this area who had a beer bar (pre-COVID-19) sequentially get their weekend daytime/happy hour music programs shut down by the ASCAP "police" because the grocery store owners would not pay the licensing fees, or didn't know that they had to, then wouldn't pay the back royalties from the time they started the weekend "concerts."
We had a scare where our municipality said we were covered for BMI and ASCAP, but anything not covered by those two was on us. A third entity tried to swoop in and claim we played songs on their registry, and we learned real fast how this all works 
. Fortunately, they were just shaking the trees to see if fruit would fall out and we'd operated within the contract.
If you ever try to put on your own show, you'll need to look into the licencing or promote underground so nobody knows, but otherwise it'll be on the venue.
. Fortunately, they were just shaking the trees to see if fruit would fall out and we'd operated within the contract.If you ever try to put on your own show, you'll need to look into the licencing or promote underground so nobody knows, but otherwise it'll be on the venue.
There was a big music venue in Cincinnati who didn’t pay their ASCAP fees. They got fined $60k and didn’t have any bands for about 3 or 4 months while it got worked out. I’d love to know how common or rare situations like this are.
Speaking of things like this...how many of you ever belonged to the union? Back in the 60's,70's and 80's you couldn't even play the Moose clubs,American Legion,VFW,Eagles or Joe's corner bar without belonging around here. They had their tentacles in everybody's pocket. Nowadays these youngsters have never even heard of the Musicians Union.
I played in a country band from Ontario that did some high profile gigs. Everyone had to be a member of the union. In 2 years we never were approached by the union. The BL had some kind of paranoia about being carded.
Any place that plays music has to pay a licensing fee. It could be a clothing store, restaurant or bar. How many of them do is the real question.
Over 40 years of different cover bands, hundreds of venues, (3 provinces) and I've never had anyone approach me or heard of anyone being approached for fees. (once, in Alberta in the 80's, we were asked if we were in the musician's union by the bar)
However, I have (rarely) heard of venues getting fined for not paying ASCAP/BMI, and I've had maybe two promo cover videos taken down off Youtube for copyright reasons.
This is not something to worry about. It's the venue's problem.
However, I have (rarely) heard of venues getting fined for not paying ASCAP/BMI, and I've had maybe two promo cover videos taken down off Youtube for copyright reasons.
This is not something to worry about. It's the venue's problem.
The more large and well known the bar/club/venue is, the more likely it has a BMI or ASCAP license.
Most hole-in-the-wall bars don't bother, until, a rep wanders in and lays a cease and desist on them.
It doesn't happen very often, and when it does, it's usually because someone turned them in (see: ratted them out) like a competing venue, or disgruntled employee.
Seen it happen...
Once upon a time, the local musicians unions were just as tough, if not tougher.
Most hole-in-the-wall bars don't bother, until, a rep wanders in and lays a cease and desist on them.
It doesn't happen very often, and when it does, it's usually because someone turned them in (see: ratted them out) like a competing venue, or disgruntled employee.
Seen it happen...
Once upon a time, the local musicians unions were just as tough, if not tougher.
No, but depending on how you do it you may or may not be represented by a PRO. If The Rolling Stones plays somewhere, the venue has to play a performance fee for the right to have their represented music performed at their venue. The Stones still own their music, but their PRO still collects royalties even when it’s them performing their music. Of course, only a portion of that comes back to them.
If you advertise, sooner or later a BMI rep will show up at the venue and demand an annual royalty fee. This is commonly known as the "s..t hits the fan".
Right. Play only originals. To an empty room.
I mean sure, the originals scene deserves to thrive, but it's not what makes the money flow like wine. The folks with the cash want to hear good songs, that they know.
Apparently none of you have written songs that you make your income from.
Said by someone who used to make a lot in royalties and licenses, in the days before people decided stealing was fine.
The whole idea is to let people play songs you’ve written. But they must pay a licensing fee to you, for the privilege.
That is not ‘brutal’. That’s just the fees that get charged for using someone else’s property. If you don’t like the cost, then write your own less expensive songs.
Said by someone who used to make a lot in royalties and licenses, in the days before people decided stealing was fine.
