looking for some advice on basic copyright stuff......
1. When you play covers in a pub does the landlord or landlady have to acknowledge copyright for songs?
2. As a band do we have to pay copyright fees to a promoter if they are involved?
3. What are the general rules at a pub to allow live music? Do they always have to have a license and do they them pay the PRS for the privilege to do that?
4. Do we as a band have to take any specific actions in this area? Is it like acknowledging a copyright on a backing track or playing along to a background song in YouTube when you upload the video?
5. Last one - is there any relationship between copyright and public liability insurance etc?
Thanks in advance
I am not young enough to know everything
Comments
If you sell someone else's copy righted material or use it in a public performance where the customer pays to be there then you should have an agreement with the copyright owner to do that. Nb the copy right owner is not necessarily the composer/band
Copyright and Public Liability are totally unrelated.
Some venues may insist you have public liability insurance, more might insist on PAT certificates for your electrical stuff. More likely to be wedding venues ( we were asked for them to play in the street because the council were supplying the electricity) than pubs though.
If you or anyone in the band are published writers, it might be prudent to add thier songs to the lists to bump them up the scale ;-)
Why would a promotor charge for PRS and not electricity or dressing room hire?
In principle it's a wonderful thing for us artists but the administration sometimes seems a bit 'close enough', not that I know of a better more efficient way.
As for how that affects covers bands....I have never heard of a band ever having to worry about this or ever have to pay anything etc. Forget about it, it's not an issue.