What makes a cover band performance legal for a private venue?

In My Humble Opinion
1

If a band performs at a music venue, typically the venue pays a fee to ASCAP and/or BMI to cover the performance of licensed music. Therefore the band doesn’t have to worry about it.

What if a band is hired for a private party at a private venue, like someone’s home, or a venue that doesn’t normally have live music (like a winery), and so would not subscribe to ASCAP/BMI. Does the band have liability for this in that situation?

I play in a jazz trio and we play 100% covers of copyrighted jazz standards. In this scenario, even though the person who hired us is not making money as a result of our performance, we are making money by performing other peoples’ compositions.

I am wondering if we have any problems, even theoretically, with paid performances at private venues. (From a practical standpoint, I’m sure that nothing ever happens; I’m wondering about what you would if you went by the book.)

I have posted in IMHO because this is a request for a generic legal opinion, and not for a specific situation that I need legal advice for. It probably has a factual answer, and is about the arts, but I think legal advice goes best here.

2

Here’s an overview of the licensing rules for ASCAP and BMI.

3

That’s interesting.

I remember finding out that my old church, a small Episcopal congregation, paid some agency $300 a year for the public use of copyrighted material, and I guess the agency handled paying royalties.

4

That’s a pretty good summary. Anytime we are at a private event, I could make the case that it’s close friends and family; the hosts are not hosting a rave.

5

The gym I went to in Toronto paid fees to SOCAN (the Canadian equivalent of ASCAP/BMI) specifically to cover playing the music on CDs and the radio, not even live performances.