Texas Guest has it mostly right. When the reps get up in your grill they're hard to ignore, but cite the rules stated in the above post and the extortion attempts will stop. Just know that for the fee charged the writer(s) in question receive NONE of that money. It's all taken up in 'administrative costs'. We(writers and publishers) receive payment for mechanicals(sales) and airplay(T/radio, TV, S/radio, film, etc.),but the 'small concert', clubs, etc. is where the reps 'make their bones' and establish their 'reps' to the 'bosses'. If they can intimidate a potential music venue into paying the fee or stopping music altogether it makes no difference to them. That's what they get paid to do. But TG is right, they do have to prove a given venue is in violation by citing specific instances of same.

There's a couple of books long out of print, but very insightful. 'Making It With Music' by Kenny Rodgers and 'Leap Of The Smalltime Frog' by Mike...somebody, I can't recall his last name, but he played alot of college gigs in the 70s and 80s. They're small books(less than 100 pages) and are ruthlessly cynical re the music 'business'. But VERY educational.