Texas agrees with you: > Do I need a license to play music in my establishment? > Yes! When you purchase a CD, MP3 or similar product, you are granted the rig

Texas agrees with you: > Do I need a license to play music in my establishment? > Yes! When you purchase a CD, MP3 or similar product, you are granted the right to non-public performance of the material, such as at home or in your car. [...] Although you may have paid for a copy of the music, or are paying a DJ or live band to perform copyrighted music, you are still required by U.S. Copyright Law to obtain the proper licenses for the playback of the songs. [...] http://governor.state.tx.us/music/guides/music_in_venues http://governor.state.tx.us/music/guides/music_in_venues It goes on to state that ASCAP does not have licensing information available on their website (as of the last update in 2009), but BMI does. Here's their license for "Local Governmental Entities": http://www.bmi.com/forms/licensing/gl/lge.pdf http://www.bmi.com/forms/licensing/gl/lge.pdf and for completeness, "Eating and Drinking Establishments": http://www.bmi.com/forms/licensing/gl/ede.pdf http://www.bmi.com/forms/licensing/gl/ede.pdf Another article from The Guardian also reports that in 2010, prisons in the UK had to enforce rules to prevent music from being played in the open because licensing costs were becoming too expensive: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/19/prison-music-ban http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/19/prison-music-...