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Rosemary Greenway has been playing passages of opera and orchestral symphonies on the radio to the animals at her stables for more than 20 years, convinced that it helps soothe them. While not all of her staff are quite as fond of the output of Classic FM as she is, Mrs Greenway, 62, kept the radio tuned to the station religiously while mucking out because of the apparent benefits. But she has dropped the practice after being told that she must pay a £99 annual licence fee as it constitutes a "performance". Because her stables, the Malthouse Equestrian Centre in Bushton, Wilts, employs more than two people it is treated in the same way as shops, bars and cafés which have to apply for a licence to play the radio. She received a telephone call from the Performing Right Society – now officially known as PRS for Music – which was targeting stables as part of a drive to get commercial premises to pay for licences. Rather than pay the fee, she now leaves the radio off except on Sundays when she is alone at the stable yard. "I actually use my radio for the benefit of the horses as Classic FM helps them relax," she said. "The staff are not bothered whether they have the radio on or not, in fact they don't particularly like my music and turn if off when I'm not around." Mrs Greenway, who keeps 11 horses at the stables, added: “You would have thought that playing music to your own horses was allowable but apparently not. “Especially on windy days I try to play it - it gives them a nice quiet atmosphere, you can only exercise one horse at a time so it helps the others to stay calm. “We are right next to the RAF Lyneham air base so it dulls the noise from the aircraft as well.” A spokeswoman for the society said: "Of course, we don't ask people to pay for music played to animals. "Mrs Greenway was only asked to pay for music played for staff, like any other workplace."She added that the stables might qualify for a new reduced fee of just over £50 if there are fewer than four employees. It is the latest in a series of seemingly unlikely places to be told that they constituted performing venues and were liable for a licence if they played the radio. Charity shops run by the mental health group Mind were told to switch off their radios last year while the organisation held discussions with the society after discovering that it was liable for licence payments. Chris Doran, senior executive at the British horse Society, said that the organisation had received several calls from stables reporting calls from the society. "I think they are an easy target because these people are working outside all the time, they are more likely to put the radio on while mucking out or feeding," she said.She added that because of the "abrupt" tone of some of the calls many stable owners suspected initially that it was a hoax call. Last year a study at Belfast Zoo found evidence that playing Elgar, Puccini and Beethoven to elephants helped reduce stress related behaviours such as swaying, pacing and tossing their trunks. An American harpist reported that her music helped calm sick dogs at a Florida vet's clinic and one online retailer sells specially selected CDs for cats
now officially known as PRS for Music – which was targeting stables as part of a drive to get commercial premises to pay for licences.
This section applies to you if you run and market your premises as a live music venue, e.g. people usually come to your venue primarily to listen to live music and they would not normally gain access to your venue without passing by a box office or via any type of ticketing system. Therefore this section does not apply to pubs and nightclubs which may feature live music but are run and marketed as a pub or nightclub.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 means that if you use copyright music in public, you must first obtain the permission from every writer or composer whose music you or hirers of your venue intend to play. A Music Licence from PRS for Music grants you the legal permission to play just about any copyright music which is written and published by our members and those of our affiliated societies worldwide.
You will have a hotline direct to the music experts. You will be able to take advantage of the variable price mechanism based on a percentage of copyright music as a proportion of the programme at classical music events. This rate must be applied for annually, at the anniversary of the licence. You will only be charged for our music. For book musicals, operas and ballets, you can contact the PRS for Music Concert Sales Centre who will assist in advising you which publisher you should contact to get clearance. You will have direct control over your music budget. There is even the chance of a discount (under certain circumstances). You can choose a suitable billing period (monthly, quarterly or six monthly in arrears).
PRS for Music publishes over 40 public performance tariffs, appropriate to the different categories of premises and types of performances. The following tariffs that would relate to music venues and that are dealt with via our Concert Sales Centre are:Popular Music - Tariff LP Classical Music - Tariff LC Free Popular Music Events - Tariff GP Theatres - Tariff T Variety Shows -Tariff V
But if this is the case how many teachers play movies for kids in school.
Quote from: bacon665 on March 29, 2009, 05:29:15 pmBut if this is the case how many teachers play movies for kids in school. Huh, thats already begun dude: http://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-enforcers-illegally-demand-money-from-kindergartens-081005/
