ASCAP Seeks to Protect its Songwriters' Livelihoods with Legal Action Against 12 Venues Nationwide for Performing Musical Works Without Permission

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2023 -- The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announced today that it has filed 12 separate copyright infringement actions against bars and restaurants nationwide, arising out of the unauthorized public performance of its members’ copyrighted musical works.

ASCAP is a membership association that operates on a non-profit basis and represents more than 875,000 independent songwriters, composers and music publishers. ASCAP ensures its members can earn a living from their art by licensing the public performances of their songs, collecting those license fees, and distributing royalties to its members. Nearly 90% of the license fees ASCAP collects goes directly to songwriters, composers and music publishers as royalties.

“As businesses have recovered from the pandemic, they have returned to using music because it helps create an emotional connection and ambiance that attracts and retains customers,” commented ASCAP Executive Vice President of Licensing Stephanie Ruyle. “However, each of the establishments sued today has decided to use music without compensating songwriters. Hundreds of thousands of well-run businesses across the nation recognize the importance of paying music creators to use their music and understand that it is both the lawful and right thing to do. By filing these actions, ASCAP is standing up for songwriters whose creative work brings great value to all businesses that publicly perform their music.”

Songwriters earn their livelihoods by licensing the performance right granted to them under copyright law. Any business using copyrighted music has the opportunity to obtain permission to do so lawfully through a simple license, which covers the entire ASCAP repertory of over 17 million musical works. The average cost for bars and restaurants amounts to less than just $2 per day for the right to play an unlimited amount of music.

ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President, songwriter Paul Williams added: “We want every business that uses music to prosper, including bars and restaurants, and are happy that they are on their way back after some very difficult years. As songwriters and composers, we must earn our livelihoods through our creative work, and music is how we put food on the table and send our kids to school. Most businesses know that an ASCAP license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently and at a reasonable price – while compensating music creators fairly.”

ASCAP has made numerous attempts at the establishments listed below to offer a license and educate the business owners about their obligations under federal copyright law. Despite these efforts, the owners of these establishments have repeatedly refused to take or honor a license. Instead, they have continued to perform the copyrighted musical works of ASCAP's songwriter, composer and music publisher members for the entertainment of their patrons without obtaining permission to do so.

Establishment (City, State):

The Barn at Cowboy Jack's (Minneapolis, MN)

Drying Shed (San Jose, CA)

Dunn's River Island Cafe (Tampa, FL)

Fremont Country Club (Las Vegas, NV)

Kings X (El Paso, TX)

Neck of the Woods (San Francisco, CA)

Prejean's (Lafayette, LA)

Rodeo 4 (Lubbock, TX)

Sage Restaurant & Lounge (Whittier, CA)

Savoie Italian Eatery (Chula Vista, CA)

Treehouse Rooftop (Los Angeles, CA)

Venu (Boston, MA)

More information about ASCAP’s licensing of bars, restaurants and music venues can be found on ASCAP's website at: http://www.ascap.com/whywelicensevenues.

About ASCAP

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 1.1 million members representing more than 20 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

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CONTACT:

Cathy Halgas Nevins

ASCAP

cnevins (at) ascap.com