Looking to the peak season and crowded venues, OneMusic reminds operators that all businesses, including hospitality, need the appropriate licence to play music to customers.
Owners and managers are well versed in the necessity of specific licensing and regulatory requirements, and the need to comply, but not all are as aware of their music licensing obligations.
The rights of music creators and performers are protected in Australia by the Copyright Act (1968), which stipulates that the person does not even need to ask to enjoy the benefits of copyright.
Permission is needed to play copyright music in a commercial setting. This includes pubs, bars and breweries, but also shops, gyms, dance schools, salons and many other businesses.
It is not enough to subscribe to a music streaming service or purchase a recording. That merely allows a person to play the music for their own enjoyment, and does not permit it to be played it in a business, where patrons or staff can hear it.
To avoid infringing the law, preventing the risk of legal action and ensuring the musicians are compensated, a business need a licence.
OneMusic provides licences for businesses in Australia to play the vast majority of all music that is typically heard on radio, TV or streaming services, or can be purchased.
The company says it does “everything we can” to avoid legal action, but playing copyrighted music without permission or a licence can constitute an infringement. A court adjudication can result in a business having to pay fees due and damages.
A recent case involving a karaoke bar in South Australia wound up in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, after OneMusic contacted the venue multiple times but it refused to enter into a music licence.
The court ruled the venue had to pay over $56K in damages plus another $10K in legal costs to APRA, as well as a further $70K in ”additional damages”, thought to be the result of the flagrancy of the copyright infringement.
“For OneMusic, infringement actions are a last resort,” says director, Catherine Giuliano.
“It’s not a route we wish to take. Ultimately, our purpose is to issue licences for the use of music in businesses and, in so doing, look after the rights of music creators who often rely on these payments to make a living as a small business themselves.”
The OneMusic website provides detail on industry-specific licences and federal law, and provides facility for operators to obtain a licence at a time that suits them.
Further information is available through the Australian Copyright Council and the Australian Business Licensing Information Service.
