Playing music in any space open to the public, a store, restaurant, gym, waiting room, is a "public performance" under US copyright law, and public performances require licenses from the copyright holders. That licensing is administered through Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), which collect royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers.
Each PRO represents a different, non-overlapping set of songwriters and publishers. A song registered with BMI isn't covered by an ASCAP license. To be fully covered, a business needs licenses from all four.
Consumer streaming apps are licensed for personal, private listening only. Their terms of service explicitly exclude commercial use, playing them in a business, paid subscription or not, is a breach of both contract and copyright law. This is true regardless of whether you've "never been told" or "nobody's ever checked."
Under 17 U.S.C. § 504, statutory damages range from $750 to $30,000 per work for non-willful infringement, and up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. PROs employ field representatives who actively investigate businesses; documented settlements typically run from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars per venue.
A full commercial music license bundles ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR coverage into one fee, so the venue is legally covered for public performance of any song in the catalogue, no per-song tracking, no separate paperwork per PRO, no exposure. Curator Now includes all four in every plan, starting at $35/zone/month.
Sign up for a fully licensed service, the license activates immediately, no waiting on individual PRO applications. Curator Now's 14-day free trial gets you fully covered from the first day, with 1,000+ human-curated scenes included.
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR included on every plan. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
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