Not many people know this… but if you play music in what record industry copyright collection body Phonographic Performances New Zealand (PPNZ) defines as a public area then you could be liable to pay a licence fee.
And with record sales revenue falling it seems that PPNZ is aiming to boost those ailing revenues by making sure they collect all the fees they can get their mitts on as well as potentially increase those fees.
According to PPNZ…
Play music in any area that is non-domestic and accessible to the public, or charges for entry? e.g. cafes, bars, restaurants, fitness centres, etc. This includes any music or music videos that are played from a PC, MP3 device, CD player, jukebox, or that is played by a DJ. It excludes radio & TV sets. Play music or radio though your telephone ‘on-hold’ system? Hire out your premises to others who then use it to play music? e.g function & events centres, halls, clubs, etc. If you answered YES to any of the above, you will need a PPNZ Public Performance Licence.
The New Zealand Herald is trying to drum up public interest in the activities of PPNZ through a series of recent articles:
- Investigator tunes in to make music-players pay
- Gyms fight to keep music playing
- Music royalty review has cafes and bars fearing big bills
The related NZ Herald poll “Should you have to pay a licence fee to play music in an office or a shop?” has generated a bit of relatively constructive discussion too.
In case you were wondering, here are the PPNZ’s current fees for Public Performance Licences.
THE JOINT RADIO SHOW 