[Infowarrior] - More music licensing nuttiness

[Richard Forno]

(c/o Isaac P)

Corner shop worker told to stop singing in her store - or pay for a  
performing licence
By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:00 AM on 15th October 2009

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220423/Corner-store-worker-told-stop-singing-works--pay-licence.html

Music police have told a grandmother to stop singing behind the  
counter of the corner shop where she works - or pay for a licence.
Sandra Burt began serenading customers at the A & T Food Store in  
Clackmannan, near Stirling, after the owners were contacted by The  
Performing Right Society and told they would have to pay an £80 annual  
fee to keep the radio on in the shop.

They decided not to bother and now 56-year-old Sandra sings tracks  
'from anyone from The Noisettes, to the Rolling Stones' as she stocks  
the shelves and weighs customers' purchases.


A song and dance: Sandra Burt's musical outbursts at the A & T Food  
Store have been deemed 'live public performance'

One delighted regular has even compared her voice to Amy Winehouse.



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Now, however, the PRS, which collects royalties on behalf of music  
industry bosses and artists, has told her that her 'spontaneous  
outbursts of joy' constitute live public performance, and she could  
have to pay annual fees of 'four figures'.

Gareth Kelly, music sales advisor for PRS, said that Mrs Burt was  
getting up to 'mischief' to get round the radio licence fee.

He said: 'Using any copyright material in your store, without paying  
for it, is illegal.

'It doesn't matter whether you're singing a Robbie Williams track, or  
listening to a Robbie Williams track, you still have to pay for it.

'She could be fined for not having a live performance licence, and if  
the fine isn't paid, then she could potentially be taken to court.'

The PRS said that Mrs Burt could be judged to be giving daily  
performances, which would require individual daily licences, taking  
the annual cost up to 'four figures'.

Mrs Burt, a Rolling Stones fan, said she was shocked by the attitude  
of the PRS.

She said: 'I come from a very musical family. My husband is a drummer  
in a pipe band, and even my two-and-a-half year old grand-daughter is  
always singing.

'I sing all the time, and I often don't even know I'm doing it. It's  
just a spontaneous, happy thing.

'They'd have to put tape over my mouth to stop me singing these songs.  
Even if they threatened to take me to court, I don't think I could  
stop singing. I'm just a naturally happy person.

'Nobody that comes in the store complains about me singing. I love  
singing and think it's cruel that PRS would try and stop me from doing  
it.'

Assistant manager of the store Dale Alexander said they had been  
contacted by the Performing Right Society to say their business could  
be fined if they were caught listening to a radio without a licence,  
so Sandra decided to entertain the staff and customers instead.

Mr Alexander, 29, said: 'Sometimes you can go half an hour without  
seeing anyone in the shop so the radio was a wee bit of company.

'It was really just for the staff. It is not like we were putting on a  
concert.  The rules have been in for a while but the PRS have been  
targeting small shops recently, and with the recent huge increase in  
the drinks licence to stump up it is just too much to pay extra for.

'It helps that Sandra actually likes singing the oldies from the  
sixties and that sort of thing, and she is quite a good singer.'

Mrs Burt, who has worked in the store for four years, added: 'I have  
always sung in the shop but it is so quiet now without the radio on,  
that I'm singing all the time.

'I'll basically just sing anything that comes into my head, and then  
Dale will start singing along with me, and people in the shop will say  
'Oh I know that song too', and they'll start singing along too. It's a  
happy store.

'It's ridiculous. What's the world coming to when Big Brother wants to  
charge you for singing a wee tune?'

The Performing Right Society said it was within its rights to charge  
for all copyright music played or performed outside of the home. The  
not-for-profit organisation distributes the royalties to the writers  
and publishers of the songs.