Katherine,

This topic has come up often on Museum-L over the past several years. I
think many museums, especially small and medium ones, are jolted when they
receive the letters from BMI and ASCAP, threatening legal action if they
don't pay yearly licensing fees to those PRO's (Performing Rights
Organizations). From the responses in the past, and in talking with
colleagues, there are reactions that range from, "we're non-profit",
"fair-use covers us" to, "we're only playing CD's". So there are
misunderstandings of the copyright law and licensing and how it applies to
museums and non-profits. There are also misunderstandings about the PRO's
and how those letters are sent to basically shake down small organizations
for yearly fees. In addition to my work in conservation and with museums I
have also been involved with the songwriting community here in Los Angeles
for years (I was the Executive Director of Songsalive! for 4 years). Many
small coffee shops and restaurants also receive those same form letters
from BMI and ASCAP and many have shut down live music as a result. I
develop and teach online courses for museum professionals, mostly in
conservation, but have a new course starting on Sept. 21st. on, "Copyright
and Intellectual Property 101 for Museums" from the knowledge and sources I
have acquired on it over the years.

So for your program it would be very helpful to explain the basics of
copyright, how it applies to using music, recorded or live, in museums, and
how to handle those nasty letters that come in the mail.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA  USA
www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com



On Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 7:04 AM, Katherine Lewis <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi Listmates,
>
> The Museum and Arts Law Committee of the American Bar Association is
> working to put together a program on music licensing in museums with case
> studies and I wonder if anyone has any specific examples of issues they've
> encountered in this area they'd be willing to share? Or questions that have
> come up you might want answered in a program like this?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Katherine Lewis
> Chair
> Museum and Arts Law Committee
> Science & Technology Section
> American Bar Association
>
>
>
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