Glendale Heights club sued for not paying music licensing fees

ABC 7 Chicago ^ | March 9, 2005 | Rob Johnson

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

March 9, 2005 — A Glendale Heights club has been sued by the legendary band Led Zeppelin. The club has apparently been playing the songs of Zeppelin and other groups without having paid the yearly licensing fee required of clubs, restaurants and bars.

Chances are the surviving members of Led Zeppelin have no idea this suit even exists. But lawyers for the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, or ASCAP, has filed suit against the owners of the club 602 North in Glendale Heights.

The suit claims that during an October investigation of 602 North, songs by not only Led Zeppelin, but Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Bob Seger, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and INXS were played even though the club has paid no licensing fees to ASCAP for the rights to such music.

"I think most people can sympathize with the concept of getting compensated for your hard work. Some [musicians] are multimillionaires but the vast majority are not," said Jared Solovay, ASCAP attorney.

Rights fees for clubs and bars run anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars a year.

Jim Peterik is a musician and songwriter from Burr Ridge, perhaps best known for the 80's rock anthem "Eye of the Tiger" with his former band 'Survivor.' Peterik says there is a price for such creative property.

"It's kind of like air conditioning, you know? You walk into a club and you hear this music. It is like electricity. It makes everybody feel relaxed, feel good," said Peterik.

Peterik's songwriting partner Kevin Chalfant from LaSalle County never had a mega-hit like "Eye of the Tiger."

"I'm actually here today with [Peterik] writing songs and that's how I pay my bills. You know, I put my kids through college with pennies from heaven," said Kevin Chalfant, songwriter.

Peterik is now working on a song for an upcoming country band. He hopes it will become a hit -- after all, studio equipment and the talents of musicians and engineers do not come cheap.

"If it was up to me, I would do all this for free. Really, that is the bottom line. But you can't do it for free. And you have to make a living at it," said Peterik.

Peterik and Chalfant are going to Nashville in April to take part in an event which will raise funds to support lobbying efforts for songwriters to make sure they get what is rightfully theirs.

ABC 7 tried to contact the owners and representatives of the owners of 602 North, but were unable to do so.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Jim "Eye of the Tiger" Peterik

[kingu]

Had ASCAP come visit us once, demanding a license fee for the music we play in our store. We declined to take a license and pointed out that the music we were playing was written by non-ASCAP members.

But this is one of the least paid licensing fees I've ever seen. Many small businesses I know who have live performances or canned music are completely unaware that this is due.

It can add up to a good chunk of change.

[Imaverygooddriver]

What? You gotta be kidding me. Is this music coming out of a juke box or a cover band playing them? Tell you what, when radio stations pay them royalties instead of record companies paying radio stations to play the same garbage over and over and over I`m for this, but for now BLOOOOOW ME! All they are doing is killing the free advertisement of their crappy music.

[speedy]

What? Nothing by The Vapors? No Rocky Burnett? Remind me not to go to this club next time I'm in Glendale Heights.

[Imaverygooddriver]

I`ll be sure to make a donation to Freep to pay for the royalties of posting this.

Eye of the Tiger

Risin' up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

So many times it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat

Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry

They stack the odds still we take to the street

For the kill, with the skill to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eye of the tiger

Risin' up, straight to the top

Had the guts, got the glory

Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop

Just a man and his will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger The eye of the tiger The eye of the tiger

YO! ADRIAN!!

[MCH]

Another lawyer-driven shakedown organization out of the bloated "music industry", living like vampires off the talent of popular musicians, out shaking down honest businesses.

[drjimmy]

Another lawyer-driven shakedown organization out of the bloated "music industry", living like vampires off the talent of popular musicians, out shaking down honest businesses.
These businesses are free to write and perform their own music if they want. But if they play for the public music that is written and performed by others, the businesses that don't pay licensing fees are the "vampires."

[Poodlebrain]

Suppose the club purchased recorded versions of the music which they play in the club. Have they not paid the appropriate licensing fees and royalties?

Once music is recorded and sold it should be regarded as the property of the purchaser. If musicians want to be compensated for every playing of their music they should fore go recording and only play live where they can charge the appropriate admission costs. I'm sorry the economics of their chosen industry suck, but that is no reason to create some wholly different class of property rights.

[drjimmy]

Suppose the club purchased recorded versions of the music which they play in the club. Have they not paid the appropriate licensing fees and royalties?
They paid to listen to the music, not to play it for the public. Presumably, the reason they are playing it is because it draws customers, which earns the club money. If you buy a movie DVD you can watch it all you want in your living room. But if you rent a hall and invite the public to come watch the movie--whether you charge admission or not--you have to pay for the rights.

Once music is recorded and sold it should be regarded as the property of the purchaser. If musicians want to be compensated for every playing of their music they should fore go recording and only play live where they can charge the appropriate admission costs. I'm sorry the economics of their chosen industry suck, but that is no reason to create some wholly different class of property rights.
As with the above, you buy the single piece of plastic the music is recorded on, you don't own the music itself. For the same reason, you cannot photocopy your copy of a book and distribute it, because the author holds the rights to the story. The law may suck, but it's the way it is with all artistic renderings.