You've gotta pay if you're gonna play music: ASCAP and BMI step up collection and enforcement of copyright laws. (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music Inc.)

You've gotta pay if you're gonna play music

ASCAP and BMI step up collection and enforcement of copyright laws

Well, if you're going to play that rock `n' roll music, any old way you choose it, without a license you can't use it. And BMI and ASCAP can sue you if you refuse it.

The heart of rock `n' roll beats quickly in Austin, and businesses of all kinds throughout town provide music to their patrons, whether on stage, over a sound system, or in the background as they get their hair cut. And to the surprise of many businesses, music is not free.

It's hard to say for certain, but representatives from Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) -- the two giants in the field of copyright clearance -- have apparently increased enforcement in Austin of their right to collect fees from businesses that play music for their patrons, even if it's just K-98 piped in through the store's sound system. "I think we may have stepped up our compliance …