Legalities of Cover Songs, Albums

[Jonah]

I am a part-time musician. Nearly every live gig I have been involved with has involved playing cover songs in bars. As a player, do I ever have to worry about copyright issues when performing cover material? What about if my band performs an entire album? A few years ago, my band performed the Dark Side of the Moon on Halloween (to get a bigger draw than usual). It was a fabulous night--we added back up singers, horns, and other extra members. But was it legal?

[JLsound]

Jonah, From what I know, if you play in a Venue that is represented by ASCAP or BMI, then I believe something is worked out between the performer and the Venue so that money goes back to the original artist/composer and anyone else involved in the original music. Those venues are generally music halls, arenas, places that are known for musical performances, or is known for getting large audiences. Legally, you should license your perfomance of someone elses song, but in a bar performance I believe it would be permitted. However, there are many who could help you more. Good luck.

[Dak Lander]

I don't remember what the limit is, but in a bar environment, it's based to a point on the size of the venue, whether or not a cover is charged & a few other things. It's my understanding of the rule that if a cover IS charged the venue is supposed to pay the royalties regardless of the venue size. The way I read the thing too is if you are doing covers and make money you are supposed to be licensed. It's kind of catch 22. You probably won't get caught unless you do large venues & would probably have a better chance of getting caught if you're a tribute band & play the big places. You can pull the information off the net. BMI, ASCAP & the other licensers have that info on their sites.

[x factor music]

the average neighborhood watering hole that hires bands to play pays royalties to the licensing companies...performers have no obligation to do so in a situation like that... i believe the licensing agencies do sampling in any given market, just like they do w/radio. in fact, i may be wrong, but i think the only time licensing comes into play is when a song is reproduced for commercial benefit...if you were to release a live recording of your performance, you would have to license and pay royalties. but if you're selling less than say 1000 copies, it's pretty much going to go below the radar anyways. like i said, i may be wrong about a few points here, but i do know for a fact that any bar/restaurant/theater etc that hires musicians is obligated to pay the licensing fees.