[BC] Public license question

[Gary Zocolo]

Absolutely true. When I was a partner in a couple local stations, we would 
always encourage our clients to play us on their business establishment 
sound systems. The guys in the dark suits must have had our client list 
because they went up and down the business strip and hit every last one of 
them. Some of them paid up, some of them stopped the practice. As I recall, 
the only acceptable free mode was a stand alone radio sitting there playing. 
Some of our clients were not too happy about that. Neither were we....Then 
there was a time long ago when I was moonlighting as a club jock at 
night...the owner of the bar was frantic when I got there telling me I could 
not play any ASCAP songs that night, only BMI. I did as good as I could but 
the license info was in micro-print on the labels of the 45's I was 
spinning, not to mention black printing on red labels in a dark dj booth. As 
soon as I played "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley the guy in a 
suit at a table made some notes, got up and left. I was fired at closing 
time.

Gary Zocolo
Cleveland

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rich Wood" <richwood at pobox.com>

> ------ At 07:30 AM 7/30/2009, Bob Stroupe wrote: -------
>
>Larry, I thought there was an exemption from
>ASCAP fees (  covered by a single
>>radio with two speakers?
> I've had friends called "listeners" whose jobs were to sit in bars
> and restaurants (all sizes) and log all songs he could hear
> If a listener documented the "playlist" and found no membership (paid
> up) sticker on the window by the entrance, they'd be visited shortly
> thereafter by a man or men in dark suits with all the paperwork
> necessary to sign up. The option was legal action. That might cost
> more than $179.
>
> I don't believe there was any provision for retroactive payments.
>
> Rich