UK Retailers May Have to Buy Music Licenses for Console Demo Units

[Logan Westbrook]

UK Retailers May Have to Buy Music Licenses for Console Demo Units

Several retailers have already received letters requesting that they either cough up or turn the music off.

PRS for Music [http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx], one of the organizations responsible for collecting fees and royalties for recording artists in the UK, has started to target game retailers' demo units. PRS claims that if a unit runs a demo that uses licensed music, then it counts as a public performance and the store needs a license.

A number of independent retailers have reported receiving letters from PRS demanding that they pay for the music that their demo units play. The cost for a license is between £140 and £465, depending on the size of the retailer, although as the music is part of a demonstration, it does qualify for a 30% discount.

PRS' head of corporate communications, Barney Hooper, said that with a proper license, retailers would be able to play whatever music they liked, whether from a demo unit, or some other source like a CD or a radio. If retailers didn't want to get a license, or couldn't afford one, Hooper suggested that they mute the sound on their demo units, so that there was no music to worry about. Hooper admitted, however, that it would be tricky to properly monitor the situation.

Demo units aren't a new idea, and it seems a little strange that PRS is only just noticing that music comes out of them. That's not to say that PRS is doing anything it shouldn't be; as Hooper said, it's not an easy situation to monitor, and many of the larger retail chains will likely already have licenses.

This could be another blow to independent retailers in the UK, who are already struggling to compete against retail chains and supermarkets. If this is something that is enforceable by PRS - which is not guaranteed, as the organization has made mistakes in the past - then it makes demo units less attractive, either because they suddenly cost a lot more, or because they have to sit in silence. It's not the sort of thing that's going to bring a store down by itself, but it certainly doesn't help the smaller operators compete.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/42904/Retailers-forced-to-pay-for-demos?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+mcvuk/oXMK+(MCV:+games+industry+news)]


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[crotalidian]

Well you can understand where they are coming from but jeez do they want to elkiminate small busineses entirely? I now only buy my games from the only independent store I can walk to from my office (in Jersey City NJ) but as an english expat it just seems to tread on the small business operator

 

[Daemascus]

Shouldnt the music be covered by the license fee from the game makers? And what about arcade versons of the games?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Goddam, I hate being British at times.

What we really need during a retail recession is another bill to pay, you fornicating jerks.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

So what about when they play music in the store? Why is that so different?

This is some half-baked bullshit to choke more money out of retailers.

 

[Vault Citizen]

Last year for my anniversary I asked the restaraunt my fiance and I were going to if they could put a special song on the sound system they had playing. The reason they didn't was due to something about rights and not being aloud to play what wasn't on a pre supplied list.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Yeah, isn't the whole rise of music games a huge boon to the music industry, both directly, and indirectly by introducing a whole new generation to older music they may never have looked at?

But when there's a guaranteed £145 now or possible tens of thousands down the line, they're gonna take the hundred, especially if it means they can spread some misery with it.

All we can do is hope the arms industry don't hear about the success of the COD Black Ops game, there were GUNS in that, and I reckon the arms industry deserves their cut, despite having already been paid off once.

Honestly , this is just one more example of how utterly prehistoric and clueless the music industry is, and exactly why they're failing, and why piracy is rife.

IF about 10 or 15 years ago, they'd set up an inexpensive, DRM free, simple to use, no limits music download site, I truly believe there'd have been far less piracy, and MORE money flowing into the damn industry.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Last year for my anniversary I asked the restaraunt my fiance and I were going to if they could put a special song on the sound system they had playing. The reason they didn't was due to something about rights and not being aloud to play what wasn't on a pre supplied list.

Sean Lock had a radio sitcom, and one of the characters was an old man who kept forgetting about copyright law, and between scenes you'd hear him on the phone 'Hello? Sony Music? Yes, it's Barry again....yes, I was in the bath and...yes, was that Bill Withers song...lovely daaaay, you know, must have got thru a verse and most of the chorus before I even thought about it, how much do I owe you? Oh ok, lovely, I'll get a cheque in the post'

 

[FinalDream]

Just when my opinion of the music industry could not get any lower...now they hire muscle to squeeze the little people for BS licenses!

 

[CitySquirrel]

Does turning the radio on count as a public performance too?

 

[spectrenihlus]

Don't they realize that they can potentially gain more cash if they allow demos to exist? Or do think that pennys are prettier than dollars?

 

[CrystalShadow]

So what about when they play music in the store? Why is that so different?

This is some half-baked bullshit to choke more money out of retailers.

They need a license for playing music instore too. That's common for any business that does so. My guess is if a store is playing music, it already has a license.

I'm not clear on the details, but the UK licence appears to be a 'blanket' licence covering just about anything you might want to play.

That might also explain how cover bands get away with what they do, since if I'm understanding it correctly, you don't need a license specifically for the songs you play, simply one that allows you to perform such songs in public.

 

[manythings]

Don't they realize that they can potentially gain more cash if they allow demos to exist? Or do think that pennys are prettier than dollars?

Well the way I'm assuming the licencing system works is the Game Dev negotiates fee X for the music with the Label (or whoever owns it) and they make their money. This seems to be just an abuse of a legal loophole to up their revenue with a little bit on the side. Either they get the pay off from the small retailers or threaten potential purchases that could be fattening the Game Devs pockets. Sound really impacts a game so if you played a demo without sound it would probably colour your choice to purchase.

 

[Charli]

Haha wow. The term

Spoiler: Naughtywords

fuck you

comes to mind quite strongly.

It's not like most places can even hear what's being played over the rabble of people and sad repeating tracks over the store speakers most of the time.
And to a country already struggling to sell the over priced taxified dribble you throw our way. Yeah forget it.

 

[KeyMaster45]

This is a load of crap if I've ever seen one. The game developer already paid the licensing fee for the music so why on god's green earth should the store running the demo have to pay a fee as well? I'd flat out tell PSR or whoever tried to get money out of me for that to piss off. They already got their money from the people who made the game if the store should be paying anyone for having the demo stand in their store it's the people who's demos they're running not the freaking music industry.

Sometimes the idiocy of the greater entertainment industry baffles me. (or in this case angers me greatly)

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"then it counts as a public performance and the store needs a license."
A very expensive license.
Fine, retailers, turn off the sound...

Congrats on making the world 'better' again, vampires.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

The PRS is notorious for this. They will chase any and every business to try and sqeeze money out. I used to run a clothing boutique and had repeated arguments with them. The worst thing is, no matter how often they threatened they would never come down and check. Instead they would do random calls in the off-chance you had music on when they answered:

Me:Hello Violet Clothing workshop
PRS:This is the PRS you are shown as not having a licence.
Me:I dont need one, we only feature music from local artists in the shop, none of it is licenced
PRS:I can hear Megadeath in the background, thats licenced!
Me:Thats becuse you have called the workshop, this is where we make the clothing, the shop is on another number.
PRS:Bull, this is the number for Violet Clothing!
Me:No this is the workshop like I said, the shop is over five miles away, the number for them is ####### I am the only one in the workshop, I dont need a licence.
PRS:Well have your got one for the shop?
Me:Yes but not from you, I have music licence for the shop.
PRS:Thats illegal you need a performance licence!
Me:as I explained we use recordings of local bands showing off thier own stuff. Makes us seem like we care.
PRSrove it!
Me:You want a demo CD? will only charge you what it costs us!
PRS:What? no! prove its not licenced music!
Me:Why not come down and check us out, make sure its the shop though, this is the workshop, I play megadeath n shit here.....*click*

They never once dialed the right number.

Good job!
I've had very aggressively worded letters sent to me, just because my profession requires me to register as a business. Out of the blue, they go all "YOU are TOTALLY NOT PAYING for all the music you use!!!!111!!111! Pay NOW or we *insert BS threats*"... :O

They have quite a lot of nerve, in every country.