Ken D. said: "only playing your own originals won't do the unlicensed club owner lick of good if you are a member of ASCAP or BMI. You are not supposed to play your licensed material at a club that doesn't pay for licenses."
We have a local coffee house poetry and open mic venue that makes you bring a complete playlist in advance with written proof that everything on it is either original or public domain and they may even ask for a disclaimer affidavit that you have not plagiarized your material. Kinda takes the spontaneity out of just showing up with your guitar or harp and doing a number of two for the heck of it. Definitely not the coffee house scene of my youth.
For amateur songwriters with dreams of writing a hit or two, the ASCAP/BMI license is more of a curse than a blessing. Basically, if you license the material you give up your own performance rights to it assuring that unless the venues pay a lot more than you're probably worth as an amateur songwriter your work will NEVER be heard publicly, even at the local coffee shop. No wonder indies are calling it the "Music Mafia." It's basically play by their rules or stay home.
Bill Kumpe Tulsa, OK
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