IMSLP Forums

In Australian news just in today...the cost of licence fees for playing background music in restaurants, clubs, gyms and other venues is about to increase sharply, in some cases by 2000-fold.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/ill-h ... -c6sy.html

Cafe and restaurant patrons could soon be eating in silence, after a proposal by Australia's largest record labels to increase the cost of background music by up to 2000 times.

Buoyed by the nightclub ruling, the PPCA is now targeting eateries. It wants to increase licensing fees in a 120-seat restaurant to $19,344 a year — up from $125. Small cafes would be slugged with a 4729 per cent yearly increase from $124 to $5860.

"The multinational record companies are obviously trying to reposition the cost of music, but they don't understand the economics of the businesses they're targeting," Mr Healey said. "Businesses just won't play music or they will play music that won't incur a PPCA fee like classical music."

Hmm...more restaurants and clubs playing classical music, maybe more likely to hire live musicians than filling the place full of ear-splitting noise pollution at top volume...

I say "bring it on"!

Aldona

It's hard to believe how dumb the record labels are. And governments around the world are forgetting why the Statue of Anne was put in in the first place. Now, copyright law is designed to give 'the monopolisers' as much money and take it from the Artist.

Live original music and classical music (and jazz?) will be quite prevalent.

maybe more likely to hire live musicians than filling the place full of ear-splitting noise pollution at top volume...

Pubs that I've walked past don't seem to see a difference. All the live bands are louder that anythign I've heard...

Also, does this effect APRA and the radio?