displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 if you are rebroadcasting it online yes you will need either the permission of the artist or a license through bmi (if they are listed in bmi's repertoire) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I was always told as long as it is on private property and you are not in it for finincial gain you do not need a licence as long as you are not charging anyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 and I am perty sure that if you did need a licence after all the publicity that our displays got you would think someone would have got a knock or kick at their doorjust my 3 centsdisclamer: I am a unpaid non attorney spokes person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 like i said earlier most people dont, and im not trying to scare people but i do want people to be completely informed of what our displays are classified as. im not going to take any chances especially now that i have turned this into a business and have close to $100,000 invested so far so to me $214 is well worth not getting that knock on the door. you never know when or where they might start looking, when revenues are down they are going to find ways to make up for it. remember that mom in michigan a couple of years ago that downloaded like 6 songs without paying for them and now she has to pay the recording industry something like $20,000 per song. its kind of the same thing if you think about it. your putting on a show and playing music to an audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 T110431 wrote: I was always told as long as it is on private property and you are not in it for finincial gain you do not need a licence as long as you are not charging anyonetake a look at the third page i uploaded even if it is a free show they still want thier cut, it doesnt matter that it is on your private property because you are inviting the public to view your show especially if you are asking people to tune into a radio frequency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 T110431 wrote:and I am perty sure that if you did need a licence after all the publicity that our displays got you would think someone would have got a knock or kick at their doorjust my 3 centsI Agree. It truly saddens me that this topic is discussed in such an iffy way. To my memory, no one on here with a home display has come forward with a personal story of being fined. There have been some 'other people' stories in the news which were extreme and also misrepresented.I am going to enjoy my display without concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 heres how i became aware of the need to have a license my display was featured on the news in 2007, a couple of weeks later i got a letter from BMI saying that if i wanted to continue using music from their artsist that i was going to need a license, they gave me the oppurtunity to pay the licensing fee for that year and i have been getting a license ever since. Ill upload a copy of the letter when i find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 i am not paying more than 600 dollars per year since my dispay runs for more than 40 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 this will be the last i add to this thread, as i said before im not trying to [Foul Language Used] anybody off just trying to give facts about the licensing, especially since that was what the original poster was asking about. Im not here saying you cant put on a show without having a bmi license, only stating what i have learned from personal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LORi P Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I've been looking up songs and artists on the bmi.com website... none of my songs this year are part of the BMI agreement.There are a few Mariah Carey songs, but not "All I want for Christmas"There are a few Boston Pops' songs, but not "Sleigh Ride".There are a few Boney M songs, but not "Mary's Boy Child".Go Fish is not one of the covered artists.TSO is one of the covered artists... 165 songs. I did not look through all the TSO songs, but I bets most, if not all TSO songs are there.But none of my 4 songs are covered by BMI.And.... the minimum fee for web broadcasting is $324 per year. :shock::shock::shock::shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displaysinmotion_will Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 the other license provider is ascap http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?mode=searchif its not there then i would say your fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Rise Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 This is pretty simple folks. You've heard both sides. I would suggest that you google it and make your own decision.There are folks doing very elaborate shows, it would be wise for them to get a license.For most of us, our displays are too small to be noticed. That's why I say to read up on it and make your own decision. Take the size of your display into consideration. Also, if you're going to broadcast your show to the space station, it's highly recommended that you get a license. If you're exspecting a lot of media coverage, get a license.Most importantly, we all won't agree on everything,all the time. it's a good topic and it's important to make sure folks have all the info. Which i think we've done here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberson Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 David Rise wrote: This is pretty simple folks. You've heard both sides. I would suggest that you google it and make your own decision.There are folks doing very elaborate shows, it would be wise for them to get a license.For most of us, our displays are too small to be noticed. That's why I say to read up on it and make your own decision. Take the size of your display into consideration. Also, if you're going to broadcast your show to the space station, it's highly recommended that you get a license. If you're exspecting a lot of media coverage, get a license.Most importantly, we all won't agree on everything,all the time. it's a good topic and it's important to make sure folks have all the info. Which i think we've done here.If "you're going to broadcast you show to the space station" I think you will have licensing problems other than the ones discussed here.It is, its own can of worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randallfoster Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 One thing to note- as I do work in the Record industry and deal directly with intellectual property- is that in most cases, the PROs (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) will not have the time, nor inclination to come after you... It will only be the most egregious "offenders" that they bother with... As a hobbyist I am not overly concerned.Also- you DO need a license from all three if you are going to follow the letter of the law as they all represent different publishers and certainly not everything you program into your show will be a BMI-represented tune. Just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberson Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 randallfoster wrote: One thing to note- as I do work in the Record industry and deal directly with intellectual property- is that in most cases, the PROs (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) will not have the time, nor inclination to come after you... It will only be the most egregious "offenders" that they bother with... As a hobbyist I am not overly concerned.Also- you DO need a license from all three if you are going to follow the letter of the law as they all represent different publishers and certainly not everything you program into your show will be a BMI-represented tune. Just sayin'Unless of course you cull all songs not represented by BMI for your show. Then you would only need the one from BMI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randallfoster Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 touche' - You are absolutely correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitusCarnathan Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 this is what is wrong with our country you cant even install a toilet seat without someone wanting money out of it (permit cost) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morte615 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 For what it's worth the license is only required to keep you fully legal. If you only have a small group of people (under 100) who watch your display and you have speakers setup on the lawn and only they can hear it then you probably wont get in trouble, but you will still be breaking the law.But if you get 500 people through and/or you broadcast through FM (which can be picked up by people who may not even be able to see the lights but just hear the music) then you are probably better off to purchase the license than to run the risk.I was pretty impressed actually that the license (BMI) costs less than $220 for up to 15,000 listeners for a full year! I was expecting somewhere around there but only for a couple of hundred people, and per month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberson Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Ive never been concerned with being 'fully legal'.Too many rules, too many laws, too many regulations, too much BS:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Rise Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Paul Roberson wrote:Ive never been concerned with being 'fully legal'.Too many rules, too many laws, too many regulations, too much BS:PAMEN!Will said it best. The more attention your display gets, the more likely you will need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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