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A young bachur would like to begin playing music at simchos.
What are the most popular dinner & dancing music currently being played?
It would be a chessed if you could post the most current songs & the singer’s they originate from.The more popular the song, the more the owner can demand in royalties.
@RebYidd23
Performance Royalties do NOT work that way (popularity) and are not set by the artist.
Organizations such as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) founded more than 100 years ago by Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert, set rates by a formula, monitor public performances and collect royalties due for use of the material.
Live performance royalties can be as little as 8/10 of 1 cent per performance.
BMI—does the same for broadcast performances.CTLAWYER, none of that contradicts my statement,
How does CTlawyer know everything?
Music at Yiddishe weddings have become trashy. Real low class goyishe imitations. Real Chasidisha weddings still have kedusha in the music they play and sing during dancing.
@Lucy
CTLawyer doesn’t know everything, but he has a lifetime of experience in law and business.In this case, he was a part owner of his brother’s telephone equipment business in the 1990s and early 2000s. They manufactured and sold ‘Royalty Free’ CDs for use as music on hold in telephone systems. This opportunity arose when a business law client came to me with a letter from BMI. BMI paid employees to call businesses all day long and when put on hold documented the music being played. If it was copyrighted music a cease and desist letter and invoice for royalties was sent.
My client had to pay a settled one year’s royalties to BMI and ASCAP of about $1000 and my brother and I launched the new product for his business.
I set up the process for legal clearance of music to be put ion the CDs that were sold for music on hold use and one of my children who was in law school at the time used this as part time work.
@Haimy
You are not correct.
There are copyrights on both music and lyrics and the owner is entitled to performance royalties if they are played in a for profit enterprise (simcha band that gets paid).If you don’t want to pay royalties, play your own original music or something in the public domain (so old the copyright has expired).
Please DON”T give legal advice if you are NOT a lawyer admitted to the bar and licensed,
It doesn’t matter if it is played on a keyboard or clarinet or sung………………@RebYidd23
actually it does contradict your premise.
If a song is very popular the artist receives more (total) performance royalties, but he does not get to raise the rate per performance.I set up the process for legal clearance of music to be put ion the CDs that were sold for music on hold use
How did you do that?
Its very cool.
Do you offer legal advice pro bono in the cr? Im case i should ever needCTLAWYER, I never claimed that the artist gets to raise the rate per performance. The number of performances goes up, and the total amount of royalties (the only thing I made a claim about) goes up, as does the number of people the artist can collect from.
@DY
I can only be brief, as why give away something I get paid for: legal advice that aids a person or business to make money within the constraints of the law.#1 If a client wanted a particular song, our department first researched to see who was the composer/lyricist/publisher and owned rights to the song or if the copyright was expired.
If the copyright was expired, the song was in public domain (example Star Spangled Banner) and a legal opinion/clearance certificate was issued so the music could be used.
#2 If there was a copyright in place we might negotiate the purchase of the song. Not only would no royalties be due, but we could collect royalties from others
#3 We employed composers to write original music for Music on Hold in assorted Genres. Their employment contracts stated that the work product belonged to our company, not them as individuals. This is similar to research scientists whose new patents belong to their employers.Anything we owned was registered with BMI and Ascap.
Playing a CD you own and paid for or free radio over a Music on Hold system attached to your phone or loudspeakers throughout your place of business is considered broadcasting under the law and royalties are due.
For example, I could have a radio plugged in and playing at the service desk in my retail store, but if I connected it to the speakers throughout the store used for announcements, it would be broadcasting and subject to royalties.This is an involved subject, but I have dealt with ‘rebroadcasting’ issues since I was a teen working part time in my father’s stores.
@Lucy
I cannot offer specific legal advice in the CR to non-clients. I am not licensed in all 50 states and laws vary by jurisdiction. I am happy to explain things where I can if it fits into my knowledge and experience.My practice has been generally family law, wills, estates, tax matters, real estate and business contracts related to the trusts I manage.
Constitutional Law and Civil Rights is a hobby of mine and I have virtually no criminal law experience.As you will often see in the CR: Consult your local orthodox rabbi, I can give some general guidance, but you need someone locally licensed to handle most legal affairs
Shwekey, Im Eshkachech.
If he’s singing it, he needs to make sure he can hit the high notes, or it ruins the song.
@RebYidd23
“The more popular the song, the more the owner can demand in royalties”
Sorry, the owner cannot demand more in royalties, the owner is due an increased total. The owner doesn’t demand anything, Agencies such as ASCAP and BMI bill and collect performance royalties.BUT>>>>he can negotiate licensing fees for use in commercials and movies…a popular song will likely bring a higher license fee than a lesser known song, unless the artist’s name has more value than the song.
So you’re claiming that an artist whose song is never played by anyone gets the same royalties as a popular artist?
“What are the most popular dinner & dancing music currently being played?”
The really loud ones that hurt your ears, and the vibrations go through your kishkes. The songs are so loud, noone has been able to identify what is actually being played, if anything. Its lots of boom, boom boom with a little clarinet and trumpet thrown in for good measure. I’m not sure anyone has (or can) copyrighted that noise yet.
If anyone understands either the lyrics or can identify the composer or lyricist (where not adopted from the torah or davening) then its probably NOT on the top-10 list for a contemporary chassanah. As others have noted above, volume and rhythm seem to be the most appreciated attributes of music today, even at frum simchas.
I’d imagine Israeli singers won’t get protection from American law.
CTLawyer raised an interesting issue. In the case of Jewish music, a lawyer can argue that Jewish music comes from the Bible which is in 6mthe public domain, English composition or secular Hebrew notwithstanding. Imagine someone sings the national anthem in a different tune, is that really original?
In response to OP A Notable Idea has wedding sheet music books that they sell, but on there website there is a full list of the songs in the book and that’s free.
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