The Daily Telegraph, 15th December.

Music shops to pay for listening to customers.

The owner of a music shop has been told that he must pay £114 in royalties if any of his customers try out instruments with a recognisable riff before they buy.

Steve Kowalski, of Jones Music in Macclesfield, Cheshire, has refused to pay for the annual licence from the Performing Rights Society. He said, "They say it constitutes a public performance."A spokesman for the society said that royalties were crucial to songwriters and musicians and music shops received a 30 per cent discount.
ENDS