It is always so funny to me when this stuff comes around. In a nutshell, in the USA - and that includes Northern California - ASCAP, BMI, etc., has the right to collect money from folks who run business establishments and use their client's music/songs in an effort to generate income. It doesn't matter if the effort is successful or not - you use it, you pay - period.

Knowledgable club/pub owners know how to get around the bush and deal with the agents. I, for one, do not believe for an instant that a clubs annual fee has gone from $400 to $20K - that is just nonsense - there's something else going on there that the owner is not talking about. If you want to find out how it all boils down, go to an ASCAP or BMI office, go in and ask them to explain it to you; it's really not all that hard to figure out. You may not agree with certain aspects of what they do, or how they do it, but they have the right to do it. Pub owners don't want to pay it, but hey, they don't want to pay us either. Cheers,.......mwh