ASACP Sues 10 Venues That Refuse To Pay To Use Music

ASCAP has filed 10 lawsuits against bars and restaurants for the unauthorized use of its members’ copyrighted musical works. Over the past two years, and in many cases longer, ASCAP says it made numerous attempts to offer to license these venues and educate the owners about their obligations under federal law.

“Music is enormously valuable to bars and restaurants, creating an emotional connection with patrons and providing the right ambience to attract and retain customers,” commented ASCAP Executive Vice President of Licensing Vincent Candilora. “Hundreds of thousands of well-run businesses across the nation recognize the importance of paying music creators to use their music, and understand that it is both the lawful and right thing to do. However, each of the establishments sued today has decided to use music without compensating songwriters."

The 10 venues sued: