Several months ago I blogged about getting an ASCAP license. At the time, it seemed like a great idea. That opinion has changed.
What I thought was an “annual” license when I paid the money in September, was actually a license that is renewable each January. They have no concept of pro-rating the fee. Nor did they clearly disclose that this was the case. Had I understood all of the details at the time, there is no way I would have paid a full year’s license fee for 3 months. And believe me, I let them know this over the phone when the renewal bills started coming.
The technicalities of the license are these: If you are doing purely entertainment, it is the responsibility of the venue to provide the license for any music being used in your performance. If the purpose of the presentation is educational, it is then the responsibility of the presenter to carry the license. The woman I spoke with today confirmed this as being correct. Why they make this distinction I have no idea. Also, we didn’t get into any fuzzy areas of “main purpose” vs. “side benefits”.
Bottom line is, I no longer carry a license.
