Karaoke Night Landed This New Jersey Bar A Lawsuit

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It took just four songs at a New Jersey tavern’s Wednesday karaoke night to inspire a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

Earlier this month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announced that it filed nine separate copyright infringement actions against bars and restaurants across the United States.

One of the venues caught in the sweep included the Franklin Steakhouse & Tavern in Fairfield, New Jersey, a local music venue that offers live entertainment such as DJs, local bands and comedy nights. The alleged smoking gun? A four-song set during one of the tavern’s Wednesday night karaoke events.

But how can a simple karaoke set possibly land a bar in legal trouble?

“Most people who hear a song on the radio associate it with the performer, but many times, it’s a different person who wrote the song,” an ASCAP spokesperson told Patch. “Those songwriters can’t generate income by touring or selling t-shirts. Like most bar and restaurant owners, most songwriters are essentially small business owners. The ASCAP's goal is to ensure that hardworking composers, lyricists and songwriters are properly compensated when their music is performed publicly, thereby allowing them to put food on the table, put their kids through school and pay the rent.”

According to the ASCAP, it ensures its members can earn a living from their art by “licensing the public performances of their songs, collecting those license fees and distributing royalties to its members.”

Sometimes, this means going to court.

The ASCAP hasn’t been shy about launching legal battles against entities that have allegedly used its members’ music without permission. In addition to "small business owners," the group has filed suit in the names of top-tier talent such as the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga.

The group’s tactics haven’t gone without criticism, however.

In 1996, the organization garnered national headlines when it allegedly tried to prevent groups such as the Girl Scouts of the USA from singing copyrighted songs around the campfire without paying licensing fees, a charge that the ASCAP eventually denied.

In 2010, Bruce Springsteen demanded that his name be removed from a copyright infringement lawsuit that the ASCAP filed against a Midtown bar which allegedly collected an entrance fee for a band that covered some of his songs.

In 2016, the ASCAP agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice $1.75 million to settle allegations that the group violated a previous court order designed to “prevent its anti-competitive exercise of market power.”

According to a Techdirt.com blog:

“[Organizations such as ASCAP] have been aggressively targeting venues that hold open mic nights and demanding they pay huge fees. Many venues have given up and simply stopped allowing any musicians to play at all. In fact, one made every musician sign a waiver that they would only play original songs, and ASCAP told him it didn't matter because there was no way to know if the singers were really avoiding copyrighted music, so he still needed to pay up for a license. Those that pay up then often feel they need to charge a cover fee, so attendance dwindles… It's basically making it more difficult for the next generation of musicians to get started, and ASCAP is so blind to this they don't even know what they're talking about.”

FRANKLIN STEAKHOUSE ALLEGATIONS

Patch attempted to contact the owners of the Franklin Steakhouse via email and phone seeking comment for this article but didn’t receive a reply.

Patch also reached out to the ASCAP for details about the specific allegations facing the Franklin Steakhouse & Tavern and received this reply from Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs Jackson Wagener:

“The ASCAP complaint regarding Franklin Steakhouse alleges that four works written and owned by ASCAP members were publicly performed there during a Wednesday night karaoke night. However, it is our understanding that the establishment also has DJs on Friday nights and regularly has live music on Saturdays and Sundays. For Franklin Steakhouse, the estimated license fee based on their occupancy of 300, live music featured three nights or fewer per week and karaoke, would be $2,793. That’s about $7.65 per day… The complaint does not seek any specific amount of damages, but rather seeks statutory damages which may be awarded at the discretion of the court in any amount between $750 and $30,000 per work infringed. ASCAP’s hope is that this matter will be resolved amicably on terms that are mutually acceptable to all parties and that Franklin Steakhouse will obtain an ASCAP license.”

No information was provided about what songs or artists were covered during the Wednesday night karaoke event.

Wagener added that the ASCAP views litigation as a "last resort," and typically only sues establishment owners after it first has made dozens of attempts to resolve the matter amicably.

“This is the case with the owners of Franklin Steakhouse, whom we contacted more than 50 times over the last five years,” he said.

Send feedback to eric.kiefer@patch.com