The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers or SESAC has put the city on notice that they are required to obtain licensing fees for music played at all City sponsored events including Music in the Park, Christmas parade, July Fourth and Betts Park events.

Anytime music is performed, played or broadcast to the public a license from the copyright holder is required. SESAC, a “for profit” organization is one of Performing Rights Organization (PRO) big three in music licensing along with two other larger licensing societies created to protect the rights of music creators. With an expanded number of songwriters and publishers, its repertory includes over one million songs. However, that only represents 5% of the music that is out there. Recognized as the most convenient and cost effective method to obtain the proper licensing in order to publicly perform all of the music copyrighted by SESAC, a “blanket license” covering any and all events is available to the City of Warren for $610 according to Attorney Andrea Stapleford. Stapleford has a query letter, which was presented to council, ready to send to SESAC on behalf of the city for further information.

With 27 years of Music in the Park events, “How did this arise?” inquired Council member Jared Villela questioning the timing of the licensing request.

City Executive Secretary, Teena Leary responded that the City had received correspondence from SESAC directly. “We’ve avoided it,” said city Manager Michael Holtz.

Photo courtesy Music In The Park - Warren PA Facebook page Night Shift is pictured performing in the Music in the Park concert on Friday.

Enter BMI and ASCAP, the other two-thirds of the PRO’s big three.

BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) represents the over 22.4 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.4 million songwriters, music composers and music publishers. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or ASCAP, is a non profit licensing organization whose main role is to make sure their members are fairly compensated when their music is performed in public. They license more than 20 million songs and scores to the businesses that play them, then send the money to their members as royalties. Both also offer blanket licensing ranging from $250 to $2,000. The costs add up.

“Do we need to do all three?” member Phil Gilbert asked, “are we just covering ourselves just a little bit?”

Gilbert went on to say the City should be proactive. “It’s about us protecting ourselves from liability,” he said.

Council Vice President Danielle Flasher agreed, saying the city would be in the “liable crosshairs” without proper licensing.

Liability for remaining unlicensed is a costly endeavor. SESAC fines can exceed $150,000 for non-compliance with their licensing agreements. Based on the frequency and extent of misuse of copyrighted music, fines with BMI can start at thousands of dollars for even one infraction. Failure to obtain proper licensing from ASCAP may result in fines ranging from $750 to $30,000 per violation depending on the nature of the violation. Fines increase if a court determines the violation was intentional or willful. All three use cutting edge technology to track, match, process and pay on trillions performances each year. All three have collected millions of dollars in fines this year alone. Are there any outs for not paying for licensing with SESAC, BMI or ASCAP? The answer is yes. According to PRO’s copyrighted music from any of the licensing organizations that is not paid for can be extracted from being performed. With each organization representing millions of different musicians the expanse of this course of action seems insurmountable.

It seems crucial for the city of Warren to obtain the necessary licensing to avoid high fines and potential lawsuits. Eluding the issue is no longer an option.

City Council members unanimously opted to table the topic pending further research.

The City of Warren Council meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Municipal Building. Meetings are open to the public and the community is encouraged to attend.