Are There Alternatives to Getting ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC Licenses?
Proprietors who wish to may negotiate separate licenses with the individual owners of the copyrights, i.e., the composers or publishers, for each piece of music they want to use. Businesses may also limit music performed to works in the public domain (where the copyright has expired or the works were never copyrighted). This alternative, which avoids the playing of copyrighted music, is not as easy to achieve as one might think. While classical symphonic pieces or traditional folk songs may be in the public domain, arrangements of the pieces may have copyrights in effect. Using a copyrighted arrangement requires the payment of royalties. Another option often considered by businesses seeking recorded music for use in an advertising message or at meetings is to license music from a company that represents one or more music libraries. A music library is a collection of copyrighted works owned or controlled by the music library company, just as any publisher owns or controls the copyrighte
