# Legal question re: music in offices **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790 "2010-01-05T20:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790/61 "2010-01-07T20:59:53Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > I guess I should have been more clear. I get that the recording/radio/entertainment industry thinks that since I run a business I should be considered different from private use. What I don’t get is why a dentist or doctor’s office --that will not realize any income from playing music in their waiting room-- needs to be a special case. Because it contributes to the atmosphere, according to \*\*Ruminator \*\*in post 22. Why does the doctor play the music? Presumably for the benefit of his clients, which therefore benefits him. Happy clients tend to come back. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790/62 "2010-01-07T21:43:33Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Because it contributes to the atmosphere, according to \*\*Ruminator \*\*in post 22. Why does the doctor play the music? Presumably for the benefit of his clients, which therefore benefits him. Happy clients tend to come back. Unless, again as noted by Ruminator, the playing of music is entirely incidental to doing business - the receptionist has a personal radio playing, or somesuch. Actually, while we’re on the subject, is there an analogous royalty situation for TV and film? Like, if the OP’s waiting room has a TV, is she supposed to pay the… BVI (or whatever) $200 to cover episodes of Jerry Springer that may air? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790/63 "2010-01-07T23:16:26Z")
Don’t forget [SESAC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SESAC) a lot of European and Country Music falls under them and not BMI or ASCAP. Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan are probably the biggest two of [SESAC’s lineup](http://www.sesac.com/WritersPublishers/songwriterlinks.aspx) One summer during college I worked for ASCAP. We would go into bars, offices, hotels and such and count the number of peope to chairs, etc, and determain if the place not only had a license but the right type of license too. Cool job ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790/64 "2010-01-08T01:08:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Unless, again as noted by Ruminator, the playing of music is entirely incidental to doing business - the receptionist has a personal radio playing, or somesuch. That’s not what he was asking about. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790/65 "2010-01-08T03:16:30Z")
BTW, I am a she, not a he. This has been very enlightening. Now that I know that XM for business is not prohibitively expensive, that will probably be what I go with. It will provide me with commercial-free music, and keep me legal at the same time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question-re-music-in-offices/523790.md?page=3)