Johnny Knoxville

My boss got a phone call from a company called the Performing arts, They said that if we wanted to listen to the radio at work we need to pay them for the liberty.

Something to do with broadcasting to the public?

Has anyone else had to pay this?

We only have 7 people working at are place and they want something like £200 a year so we can listen to the radio?

Is there a legal loop hole around this?

Physio

I heard about this on the news a while ago!! Shocking if you ask me!

big_wig_074

buy a tv license for the premises?or all take in your own radios?

Johnny Knoxville

Its just driving use all mad at work now as listening to the radio just passes time.

Your not even aloud to listen to CD's on the Hi-Fi

mintseries1

yep its right!! they have just done the same in our place £100 a year!
you have too have one if there are more than 3 or more people working in one place,
i think anyway!

Johnny Knoxville

I don't think you can do that even.

fuzzy

tell them to fuck off and sue if they want.

Johnny Knoxville

They said if we don't pay they will send a inspector round uninvited to see if we are listening to the radio?

What fooking next paying for the air we breathe.

Billabong

Performing arts? Are you sure it wasn't the Performing Rights Society (i.e. the company that sort out the royalties etc. for artists) PRS WILL sue, and win.

EDIT to add: if listening to personal radios that can't be overheard, you should be fine (but that'd mean headphones etc.)

fuzzy

have a little radio per 3 people all tuned to the same station.

L33 BYT

My local barber who has no more than 2 people in it at any one time has a public performing license on their door.

Johnny Knoxville

Not sure but i'm sure my boss said performing arts?

Stavros

Maybe you was listening to Beethoven or the works of William Shakespear

Physio

That wouldn't surprise me mate

Billabong

Pretty sure it will be the PRS, as far as I know they're the only ones who govern such things. (they cover all TV/Radio brodcasting etc. of music)

Johnny Knoxville

I'll pass that onto my boss

DanRSturbo

Old man's gaf had this, fooking shocking if you ask me

Billabong

Dan, you say that but they are there to protect the artist...

More info here JohnnyK: http://www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk/p...s/default.aspx

James

yes it true, we have the certificate up on the wall at work also!

fuzzy

and how does the artist lose out by having their songs listened to on a workplace radio?.they allow their music to be played on public radio in the hope it influences peole to go out and buy their record. perhaps you should send theser people an invoice for the publicity you are giving them by allowing their music to reach a wider audience in your workplace?

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

Don't the artist get paid every time their songs get played on radio anyway ?

Billabong

Sorry, when i said artist, I don't mean the performer but the writers and composers (the copyright holders).

Fuzzy, I don't make the rules and don't work for the PRS. If you wrote a highly successful song, wouldn't you feel cheated if you made nothing from it due to the amount of piracy etc?

Radio/TV stations also have to pay to play the music.

fuzzy

thats all backwards though. if you write a song it only becomes successful if people can hear it on public broadcasting stations giving it the publicity to get to the masses allowing people to then go on to purchase it if they so wish and generating everyones cut of the cash. are you sure radio stations like radio 1 pay to broadcast songs? shouldnt that be the other way around? record companies giving backhanders to get their songs on the 'playlist'?

Billabong

Quite sure - pretty much any public performance means the 'broadcaster' has to pay, one way or another.

The system has been around for MANY years, it would seem however not everyone is aware of it.

billynocar

lets see, singing about guns and drugs and b*tch`s murder rape, is ok !!!!?

but they moan to the police when they get scamed really i thought they might at least threaten to come round and beat us up

Lowson

My mate's work was affected by this too.

Big pile of horse s**t if you ask me. Such a joke!!!

Lee Ivatt

iTrader: (1)

this country just gets worse buy the day, what a load a .

im waiting for when they start pavement tax, the fatter you are the more emmisions you produce and more wear to the pavement, so they'll tax you more.

pee vee

WTF!!! im sure EVERY person that works in that place pays the fookin BBC licence anyway!!!!!!

thats like saying. you can pay for it,, oh then you can pay for it again cos you are using it somewhere else!!

billynocar

a toilet tax to cut down on waste

fuzzy

bring your radio from your house and argue that you already have a licence for it?

Shings

Right

This is ages old.. goes back to when I first worked in a shop in 1996 they'd ring up and get some money off you...

Ignore em, tell em you dont listen to the radio and fuck off...

I'm not 100% sure whether it's a scam or not but its a load of toss and nother ever came of it.

J

mrjenrst

you do need a permit to listen to it, right or wrong you still need it.
If you dont have one you will get royaly fucked up the arse.

Used to maybe even still is a class 1 entertainment's licence.

Dre.1983

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonma....asp?id=258508

You couldnt make it up

fuzzy

what about street buskers then? do they need a performing license?

Johnny Knoxville

What if all the worker set up a Itunes account and everyone chips in to buy a album/albums and the plays them at work?

There still paying to listen to the artist?

Billabong

The PRS are bothered about PUBLIC broadcast of copyright works - TV licenses, buying Cd's, iTunes downlaods is totally seperate.

fuzzy

and private work places are classed as public broadcasting? so technically we shouldnt be allowed to play the radio on our building site? but then again its not us thats broadcasting it , thats the radio stations job , all were doing is tuning in and listening?

Billabong

Broadcast, public performance, public playing - split hairs all you like, it makes no difference whatsoever to me . I replied originally to help JohnnyK out with the relevant info. Whether you like it or not, as said by someone above that's the way it is.

Plenty of information regarding what is and isn't required/covered on the PRS link.

Fil

tell them you only listen to pirates anyways, as the legals are full of crap

Billabong

LMAO @ Phil