Music Business/Law Tips - "Nightclub Performance Royalties"

For years when an artist or DJ performed his/her original songs in a nightclub/bar it was probably never logged as a “play” by the performance rights organizations such as BMI, ASCAP or SESAC (“PRO”), and thus no credit or royalties were earned since there was no accurate tracking system covering that space (like there is for radio and TV). That has now changed. There is a new product called “KUVO” (by Pioneer) that tracks each song played in a club via cloud-based/streaming technology. The data that KUCO collects can then be shared with the respective PRO. Since last year alone it is estimated that over $160 million was lost due to poor tracking methods in clubs, so this new technology is a ray of hope for songwriters to always get paid for their work. Of course, writers have to make their PRO aware of all their songs so that they are in the database to be matched/credited. Ben McLane Esq Benmclane.com