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Clubs to face hefty music copyright fees increase |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Sunday, 06 April 2008 |
 The Australian Hotels Association wants urgent talks with the Phonographic
Performance Company of Australia, which represents big record labels, for an
assurance the rise in music licence fees for nightclubs will not apply to
hotels or pubs.
The decision last year means music licence fees for Australian nightclubs that
play recorded music will jump from 7¢ a patron to $1.05 by 2012 , so a venue
with a capacity of 500 would pay $525 for each night it opened.
In addition, the definition of a nightclub in the decision was vague enough to cover any licensed
venue with music and a dance floor.
David Wallace, of the WA Nightclub Association, said members who generally
operated two nights a week would raise entry fees but it was bad news for some
pubs.
A club licensed for 1900 people might get only 300 on a Thursday. For two nights
a week, its annual fee would be $197,600, up from $13,832.
A PPCA spokeswoman said clubs should be more than capable of absorbing the cost.
They had to see music as an overhead and pay a fair rate for it, which 7¢ was
not.
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