“ Then they take your money and, based on the Billboard charts, decide that statistically all of this money goes to Taylor Swift, regardless of what song you we

“ Then they take your money and, based on the Billboard charts, decide that statistically all of this money goes to Taylor Swift, regardless of what song you were actually playing. (They don't ask us what songs were actually played, and we couldn't really tell them if they did.) Unbelievably, ASCAP's slogan is "We Create Music". They do not create music, they create lawsuits. The only service they offer is, "You pay me whatever I ask, or I sue you". They provide the same service as in that Sopranos episode where Patsy and Burt try to extort a Starbucks. It's just a shakedown. It's just some wiseguy saying to you, "Here's your cigarette machine, there's going to be $500 a week in it, capisce?" […] You might wonder how they get to that number. Is it all just arbitrary capriciousness? Yes: BMI: They take your official fire department capacity and multiply it by the number of days you are open per week, and by some dollar amount. Actual attendance does not factor in. That dollar amount is higher if you ever charge admission, higher still if you have DJs, and even higher if you have live music! That's right, they charge you more when bands are playing their own songs. Oh, and of course there's the Footloose tax: it's even higher if you allow dancing. Or if you have a jukebox. (A jukebox!) ASCAP: I don't remember and I can't figure it out, but I think it is roughly the same nonsense that BMI does. SESAC: This one is based on capacity times days open per week, then multiplied by vibes. Also does not take attendance into account. GMR: This one is based on gross revenue times 0.15%. So if you play the same song at an event with a $10 ticket, and at one with a $30 ticket, sometimes that song is worth three times as much. […] Over in one corner: the entire streaming industry, paying nothing. And over in the other corner: small rooms like mine, providing that which is in actuality the only way for many bands to make any money at all, that is, by giving them a stage to play on in support of their t-shirt sales business. Because, yes, the way you make money as a band is to actually be a garment retailer. ” -- /backstage/log/2024/12/03.html on a site that doesn't like hn very much