Green Township Bar Sued by American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Over Music Royalties

The Pirate's Den is facing a lawsuit regarding licensure issues and violation of copyright content laws as it is allegedly using songs and other music pieces that are not registered to American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Moreover, the owners of the Pirate's Den failed to cooperate with the organization's staff and ended up violating the rules and regulation of the ASCAP.

The complaints were said to be filed last week in the Justice Court of Cincinnati. The camp of ASCAP stated that the Pirate's Den does not oblige with the rules and regulations of the ASCAP. Now, the organization is asking for $90,000 from the owners of the club.

Jack Wagener, the vice president of the ASCAP's business and legal affairs, stated that "The vast majority of establishments that use music in their business recognize the importance of compensating songwriters. They think of it as a cost of doing business - and the right thing to do," Cincinnati news reported.

ASCAP is one of the three major organizations that protect the rights and embodies the composers, publishers, and songwriters to the public. Additionally, it is also the one who's managing the accreditation dues and allocating royalties to its half a million followers. SESAC and BMI are also an organization who's doing the same responsibilities.

The license that ASCAP distributes cost 5 dollars a day and after the payment is done, every song that the ASCAP covers can be played anytime including their 10 million low pitched works.

According to Geos News, ASCAP chairman Paul Williams stated that, "licensing songs ensures that music creators can acquire a vital from a work and keep doing what we do best - essay music."

Tutuz News stated that as of Tuesday, the owners of the Pirate's Den have not yet responded about the lawsuit. However, it still operates at least twice or thrice a week even they have the licensure case to face. 

Wagener expressed his frustrations to the media saying that filing a lawsuit is their last option to correct the mistakes of the owners."I contacted the club as many as 40 times over five year", he said as per Cincinnati News. "They got to be working together. How's a small business owner supposed to react to this?" 

Up to this moment, ASCAP is still waiting for the response of the the Pirate's Den. There are still no signs of interest from the owner of the said music club, and according to Geos News the lawusuit is still on hold at the moment.

Tags

music, License, Composer, Songwriter, ASCAP, The Pirate's Den

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