Restaurateurs Beware: Michael Jackson Could Cost You $40,000

If you own a restaurant, beware Michael Jackson and R. Kelly. Play their music — or any other copyrighted songs — without theproper license and you can face fines of$10,000 per song.

Andrew J. Nilsen

Related Content

• Beware Restaurateurs: Michael Jackson Could Cost You $40,000
  September 12, 2011
• Why Do Artists' Sales Increase So Much After They Die?
  March 2, 2012
• Michael Jackson's Hair Gets Turned into a Roulette Ball (We're Not Kidding)
  December 14, 2011
• R. Kelly Previews New Music, Remains Completely Hilarious
  November 11, 2011
• Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music
  April 25, 2012

More About

• American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
• Carey Snowden
• R. Kelly
• Food and Cooking
• Eating Out

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Dining Newsletter: The week's top local food news and events, plus interviews with chefs and restaurant owners, dining tips, and a peek at our print review.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Playing copyrighted music, even from a legally purchased source like a CD, in a public place constitutes a "public performance" of the music under copyright law. That means the restaurant owes money to the licensing companies, which in turn pay some percentage of the fee to the artist as royalties. BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC — the three major licensing companies — have scouts who check out restaurants and other venues to make sure their licensing is legitimate.

Fosters American Grille in Raleigh, N.C., played songs by Jackson and Kelly, and lost a lawsuit last month that cost $30,450 in fines and $10,700 in attorney's fees.

How likely is this to happen in San Francisco? We called some local restaurants to find out about their music policies. Benu's management didn't consider a music license when planning the opening, said administrative manager Carey Snowden. But near its debut, ASCAP asked for a licensing fee, and Benu complied. Snowden said she didn't think ASCAP visited the restaurant before sending a notice.

San Francisco restaurants we talked to use several legal options: 25 Lusk uses a DirecTV subscription for businesses that incorporates licensing fees, while Andalu uses satellite radio. RN74 uses the Playlist Generation, a music curation service that also wraps copyright fees into its service price. "It's the biggest hurdle restaurants come up against," said RN74 Director of Partnerships Alex Bird. "People are used to getting music for free." But free doesn't fly in a business setting.