Bacta creates Music Users Group

Bacta has established a new Music Users’ Group – to review all aspects of music use from supply to operation of jukeboxes and background music systems.

David Gershlick of Coin Inn Games was elected Chair of the group. He says: “The aim of the group is to offer a more structured forum to discuss these important issues and to highlight the responsibilities of members surrounding copyright and licensing. It will funnel our relationships with the copyright licensing bodies, such as the PPL, PRS and MCPS.”

The group has already held its first meeting and bacta has subsequently made contact with the PPL to request a meeting to discuss a range of issues. These include:

· Payment of refunds for the period for which pubs were closed (operators pay in advance for the year)

· Enforcement of copyright legislation (publicans are, probably unwittingly, illegally using their Spotify etc accounts to play music in pubs to their customers).

· A licence fee for music following the private sale of a decommissioned digital jukebox for residential use

“We remain concerned about the widespread illegal use of streaming services by publicans,” says bacta CEO John White. ”We know that there is a new tariff in formulation to address this situation and it is essential that we have a structured group in place to ensure that we can be part of the discussion on how this might affect members businesses. We are grateful to David for taking on this role of Chairing the group and urge any members who want to join to get in touch.”

You might also like