So you want to open a karaoke bar…how do you (legally) get the music?

Hi folks! Recently, I celebrated my 25^th birthday and some of my friends took me to one of my all-time favourite establishments – a karaoke bar! I’m no stranger to the scene, but having spent so much time on-stage singing karaoke over the years, I wanted to delve into some of the copyright issues that surround this lively and exciting commercial enterprise.

As we’ve discussed in class, generally the copyright owner (e.g., the artist) retains the right to publish, reproduce and perform their work for their lifetime, after which it is transferred to their estate. So, how is it that I can get on stage and belt my favourite contemporary pop, punk, or rock song for others to hear, and how can establishments like karaoke bars provide a venue for this without infringing on copyright?

You’ll likely recognize the name SOCAN (The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) which protects the rights of composers, creators, and musical/visual artists. SOCAN licenses the music to commercial venues (including karaoke bars) and has various tariffs in place to collect money from organizations that play this music. Another music collective, Re:Sound also collects fees for its licenses by representing artists and record labels for performance rights. Essentially, these music collectives permit the use of music in commercial enterprises so long as these establishments pay a fee for it.

When a restaurant with live music or a karaoke bar has these two licenses and pays the associated tariffs, they are permitted to play any song that is covered by that license (i.e., songs by artists/parties that have joined the SOCAN and Re:Sound copyright collective societies). The license by the venue then covers any patron who wishes to grab the microphone and play that tune for the crowd’s enjoyment!

While this is great news for a fearless performer on a night out, I had a few lingering questions about this if some of the details are changed, so feel free to comment your thoughts, ideas, or answers! Specifically, what happens when someone decides to record a karaoke performance and disseminate it online? What if someone tips me after my performance? What if my rendition of “Somebody to Love” by Queen is so well-received that I upload it to YouTube, get some advertisements preceding the video, and benefit commercially from this? In sum, although the transient performance at karaoke is itself permitted by copyright law by being covered by music collective tariffs, what happens when it becomes more permanent and starts to benefit the performer outside of the tariff-paying establishment?

Anyway, I hope this was a fun little read for you folks. I wanted to research this because my post-law dream job is to run a combination bookstore and karaoke bar, so I need to know what I’m getting myself into!

If anyone is interested in any further reading here were some pieces of legislation and resources I found insightful:

https://singa.com/blog/karaoke-licensing-canada/#:~:text=Public%20performing%20rights%3A%20Permission%20from,and%20one%20from%20Re%3ASound.

https://decisions.cb-cda.gc.ca/cb-cda/decisions/en/item/520955/index.do

https://cb-cda.gc.ca/sites/default/files/inline-files/RESONNE-11052019.pdf

https://www.mondaq.com/canada/copyright/686890/are-cover-bands-copyright-pirates

And yes, I have photo evidence for all those interested.