As mentioned above by CupOfTea, the North American Folk Alliance has been very active on this issue for years on behalf of its members, and has been working with both BMI and ASCAP on licensing issues for traditional music venues. Since I'm neither a performer nor a venue operator I haven't been following these activities as closely as I do other FA functions, but if you're not a Folk Alliance member, you might want to look into it at Folk Alliance website . If nothing else, you'll have a chnace to share your story with and get advice from a lot of other presenters who have had the same problem.