Playing recorded or broadcast music in public without permission from the rights holders (composers, lyricists, performers and record companies) is something which is clearly a breach of IPR legislation. Playing recorded or broadcast music in a workplace without permission is usually going to be a breach of IPR legislation unless you can show that only one employee has access to the space where the music can be heard and that the music is not played when the public or contractors are present (although there may be more variability between jurisdictions on this). Most jurisdictions allow you to get a licence from one or more collecting agencies rather than having to contact all the rights holders individually. The collecting agencies often have the right to give permission on behalf of all rights owners even if they have not signed up with them yet (they do have to hand the money over when the rights holders sign up). The collecting agencies know that most business require a license and will often match business directories against there license records to see who they need to contact so if you are in the yellow pages the chances are they will find you!. Remember that even if the original music is out of copyright the performers may still have rights. Trevor Reynolds Collections Registrar English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138 Holborn, London EC1N 2ST Telephone +44 (0)20 7973 3482 -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list on behalf of Orcas Museum Sent: Fri 09/11/2007 00:27 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fee for playing CD? I would like to hear from other small museums about paying a fee to BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) for playing a CD as background to an exhibit. I bring CDs in from home, some played as background "mood" for a period room, others in my office to keep me company. BMI claims that because the public has access to both the exhibits and my office, I have to pay them $350 each year to play my CDs. Well, close the door and I'll tell you what I think of that. But in order to get the name of our obscure, remote, rural museum, they must have photocopied the pages of museum directories everywhere, so someone has probably dealt with this issue? Micki Ryan, Director Orcas Island Historical Museum POB 134, Eastsound WA 98245 360 376-4849 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). _________________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of English Heritage unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it. Any information sent to English Heritage may become publicly available. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).