The thread is about music on hold. Things such as playing local radio stations in a waiting room are not related. I don't think there is anything illegal about using normal over the air radio and TV for such purposes as long as it stays in the local market area.
Stephen Bosch wrote: >John Novack wrote: > > >>>The fact that ASCAP goes on "campaigns" doesn't make it any less absurd >>>(or, for that matter, any more likely that the average business is going >>>to be taken to task); the reality is that thousands upon thousands of >>>interconnects install PBX systems with radio ports on them that are >>>plugged into cheap transistor radios bought at Wal-Mart and similar >>>places, and nobody -- not the client, nor the interconnect -- has any >>>clue about any royalty obligations that entails. People do it, think >>>nothing of it (not least because the PBX vendors promote it as a >>>feature!) and I think neither ASCAP nor any other royalty agency has the >>>necessary resources to make even a dent in this kind of use. >>> >>> >>> >>Simply put - tell it to the judge. >> >> > >As soon as I see one, I'd be happy to. > > > >>Drivers speed , change lanes, cut others off every day and MOSTLY get >>away with it. >>Doesn't make it legal, does it? >> >> > >The difference between that and the piped-in radio is that drivers who >speed, change lanes and cut others off *know* they are breaking the law, >and most people who pipe "The Fuzz 104" into their waiting rooms neither > "know they are breaking the law", nor do they much care. They can >switch to NPR if they get a letter. > >Seriously -- this is totally unenforceable, and most reasonable people >would take a legal threat to stop "listening to the radio" (which is how >they're going to see it) as ridiculous and insulting, even if they *do* >end up complying. > > > >>Not any different than stealing software is it? >> >> > >I happen to think that listening to commercial radio broadcast over >public airwaves, whether it's over the speaker in the ceiling or the >radio on my porch, is a whole lot different from stealing software, yes. > > > >>>It's one thing if you're Dell or Microsoft and you are using music for your >>>call centre, and another if you're the neighbourhood dental practice. >>> >>> >>> >>In the eyes of the law, it makes NO difference. >> >> > >Lots of things are ugly in the eyes of the law. That doesn't change how >people actually behave. Only real consequences do. > >I'm talking about what is happening on the street here, not the world as >you prefer to see it. I have no trouble seeing the dollar signs in the >eyes of the legal barracudas on the payroll of the various licencing >agencies; that doesn't make their enforcement right, reasonable, or >actually happen, for that matter. There are practical limitations on how >many Mom and Pop operations they can go after. > > > >>Do it until you are caught, you say? >> >> > >Hey -- *I'm* not doing it :) I'm just looking around at the thousands of >people around me who are. > >The music business has a horrible public perception problem, and also an >enforcement problem. Chasing after people who are piping commercial >radio into their premises only alienates more of the general public, the >very people they are trying to get to buy their product. > >I'm merely relaying the reaction of the average independent business >person to such a request: "You want me to do *what*? Come *on*." > > > >>>I'd be interested in getting in touch with any small businesses which have >>>been given a "cease and desist" letter or demand for payment because they >>>piped radio into their phone systems. >>> >>> >>Not only their phone systems but their waiting rooms >> >>Next time you go into an office or store and you see the yellow ASCAP >>label on the door, you know they probably have gotten a letter. >> >> > >I have never, ever seen such a label on the door of any professional >office. Feel free to introduce me to someone who has one (and I'm not >kidding.) > > > >>MANY interconnects now have discovered they can make extra by selling a >>message on hold system that not only hawks the wares of the firm but >>escapes the clutches of ASCAP. >> >> > >Introduce me to some. I'm always keen to learn. > > > >>You remind me of a friend who enjoys a good argument with a tree stump. >> >> > >I only argue with stumps that talk. *You* remind me of the guy on the >freeway who calls the highway patrol because somebody cut someone else off. > >I felt compelled to speak up because I see a certain constituency that >snaps to salute when big money waves an attorney's letter in their >faces. There are lots of laws on the books that nobody pays heed to >anymore, like town by-laws which say the mayor has to give a guy he's >just kicked out of town a horse and a week's rations. Laws are written >by people for people (more often, by people to serve the interests of >certain other people) and for specific contexts and circumstances. They >serve a purpose. They are not stone slabs that Moses brought down from >the mountain. That's the reason why community standards matter in the >enforcement of the law. > >As they say in the military: the map is not the territory. > >Again, please introduce me to someone who's been threatened or served >because they were piping radio somewhere (even better, someone who has >lost a court action because of it). I would like to be educated. > >-Stephen- > > >_______________________________________________ >--Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- > >asterisk-users mailing list >To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: > http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users > > _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com-- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
