Tom
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- Jan 13, 2005
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ASCAP & BMI rules seem to change over time. Here's ASCAP's current site:So Tom.. I used to play keyboard back in the day. And back then, nobody (at least not that I knew) worried about this. We played local bars and such and just got the door (or maybe a percent of the door).
I’m curious how careful musicians need to be these days. (Besides those that don’t care or worry about it), I assume it does not really apply to non-paid performance (or maybe it does and my next question is how can I get a copyright on ‘Happy Birthday’ ). But what about musicians who play for whatever the listening public adds to their top jar or open guitar case? And if they’re paid only by tips, is the establishment required to be compliant even if they’re not paying?
The internet sure changed the music industry, didn’t it?
https://www.ascap.com/help/ascap-li...kVe_I9ZHO6ZKr6M07Y1PS1DunN_JTGcMaAuyrEALw_wcB
Don't know about the influence of the Internet, but the founders of ASCAP were Irving Berlin, James Weldon Johnson, Jerome Kern, John Philip Sousa. It was founded in 1914.