Thursday, March 09, 2006
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Thursday, March 09, 2006 |
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Pay to playLearning that songs are property isn't music to local jazz band's ears
As far as the members of the Raj Rathor Quartet were concerned, their usual Monday night show Feb. 27 went off like any other, three solid 45-minute sets with a little Leonard Cohen, some Ella Fitzgerald, and a few originals thrown in. If only they'd known this was, in fact, a special evening, they might have dressed up or something: It would turn out to be their farewell show. Afterwards, the owner of the restaurant, Tipps Thai Cuisine on Spring Mountain Road, told them he was canceling the gig they'd had for about a year. "He came over and he said he had some bad news," vocalist Diana Rathor recalls. "He felt horrible about it, and he loved our music and considered us family, but he couldn't have music anymore." Sure, he could handle paying the band, but he said the royalties were killing him -- the fees paid to performing-rights groups such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for the privilege of playing licensed songs. Thus the outraged e-mail the band fired off to Raj Rathor Quarter fans the next day, blasting ASCAP and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) for their greed. "As far as I (Diana) am concerned it is extortion and it kills venues for local artists," Diana Rathor wrote. Says guitarist Raj Rathor: "The whole situation strikes me as lousy. The system's out of control. I'm all in favor of the artist being paid for their work. I'm actually a registered ASCAP member both as a songwriter and publisher, but I'm not seeing any money from ASCAP, although the venue I'm playing is being charged exorbitant fees." According to their e-mail, owner Vijit Pipatkhajonchai was faced with shelling out $2,000 to $12,000 annually to the groups. The episode highlights the sensitivity around song licensing fees -- and a music scene that, forever in a struggle for footing, sees larger issues looming behind such setbacks. Performing rights organizations are companies that collect and dole out royalties for songwriters. When you hear "Pour Some Sugar on Me" at Olympic Garden, presumably Def Leppard gets paid. When the jukebox at the Double Down plays "You Drink, You Drive, You Spill," presumably NOFX gets paid. When a drunken tourist storms the karaoke stage to tackle Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler," songwriter Don Schlitz gets paid. As intellectual property, songs may not be as tangible as the cold beer and the hot wings, but it's just another product that thousands of venues in Las Vegas pay for annually. "It's not extortion. It's the law and it's the right thing to do," says BMI spokesman Jerry Bailey. "Songwriters are some of the smallest business owners in America, and if you're going to use their work to enhance your business, you have an obligation to pay them. Business owners don't say, 'I can't serve steaks if I'm gonna have to pay the meat distributor, therefore I should get free steaks.'" According to Bailey, nonprofit BMI, one of the largest performing rights organizations, raked in $728 million last year from the 600,000 businesses it licenses; about 85 percent of that money goes back to songwriters. He figures that live jazz once a week for a venue of its size would cost Tipps around $530 a year -- or about $10 for every show. Nonetheless, for the members of Raj Rathor Quartet, the situation at Tipps strikes a sour note. In a city with a brittle music scene, this issue has touched a nerve among artists who say it's just another roadblock to getting some culture. "What they're doing is charging the little guys, the struggling artists who are trying to find venues to get a little exposure," says Diana Rathor. "How are artists supposed to even get a start if they can't find little mom-and-pop venues to play in?" But performing-rights groups are all about supporting just such artists, counters Vincent Candilora, senior vice president of licensing for ASCAP. "The average guy doesn't separate the recording artist from the songwriter or composer," he says. "Kenny Rogers can go on tour and can sell tickets and merchandise, but who's gonna buy a T-shirt that says 'Don Schlitz'? [Schlitz] makes his living from people who use his songs and pay him for it." Meanwhile, other evidence suggests there's hardly a grand corporate conspiracy afoot against live music. Tipps owner Pipatkhajonchai says he was paying about $900 annually to ASCAP -- he wasn't registered with BMI -- but his decision to close the curtain on live music was one of several changes he's making to his restaurant. He also canceled karaoke nights, and is converting the restaurant from a traditional Thai restaurant to an Asian buffet. "The music doesn't make any money for me," he says, "so we have to stop that. No more live music. Next month we're going buffet-style." Andrew Kiraly is managing editor of CityLife. You can reach him at 871-6780 ext. 352 or akiraly@lvcitylife.com.
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