Neil,
UK licensing even includes, say, a hairdressers/barbers (a favourite target for the “authorities”)
where if more than THREE people can hear a “commercially-available piece of music” being played
then the location/premesis is required to have a licence (about $90 a year).
So even inside a shop etc, only two people are allowed to hear the music for free, EVEN if this
is a RADIO programme being played out (which is ALREADY licenced AND paying stiff airplay
royalty fees to play each “piece of music” (someone once said Jon W used to get 10-cents
for every time BBC Radio One played a JAM jingle, but I’ve no idea if that was true or not
– c.f. the story supposedly about Jon’s plane)).
The money is supposed to “go to the artistes & musicians” involved, but no-one knows whats
been heard – a corner store won’t keep “playout logs” as a station has to do under its licence.
Much of the cash is suspected to go into the “administration” of the licensing (aye, sure!)
A shop that’s licenced gets to put up a little sticker (whoop-de-doo) on their door to say they’ve paid.
And just like a “protection racket”, teams of checkers go around picking upon anyone they
can find playing the radio to make them get licenced; if not, the shop or whatever can be
fined £1000’s pounds for Copyright Infringement.
Oh, and of course, there’s MORE than one licence – there can be several, e.g. PRS Performing
Rights Society), MCPS (Mechanical something rights), and so on.
So, technically “driving along with the car radio on, and the widows down”, and pedestrians
being within audio range, means a driver could be taken to (civil) court for having their
car radio too loud!
nleibo
UKJingles
IainJohnston
Lindsay
nleibo
IainJohnston
Lindsay