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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 408265" data-attributes="member: 2525">I disagree.  Some matters are obvious, and consulting an attorney would be a huge waste of money.  This is one of those times.  There are no possible extenuating circumstances I can think of for this situation.  Playing a radio, or a CD, in your small-retail-business store is a common thing (in fact, playing a radio is almost an industry standard for some industries).  I would even add that playing old video tapes of cartoons and bad fantasy movies on a rotten TV tucked into a corner of a store is a pretty common thing.  I know of nobody, anywhere, who has even gotten a cease and desist letter over any of those issues (though if you are running a larger establishment, or one that is more populated, it would be a different story).   As far as I can tell, BMI and ASCAP do not pursue the issue with any business with revenues less than a million a year (which is not nearly as much as it sounds like, but still way more than any small game store would see).  It just isn't profitable for them to touch a small business (since statutory damages mean nothing if your defendant is so poor that the fine cannot be paid).And if you did get such a letter (very unlikely), the consultation cost would be the same as the prevention-consultation cost.  It's a very easy answer - you can pay for the license, or cease & desist.   Same answer whether it is pre or post C&D, only making it post-C&D makes it extremely likely that you will never have to consult an attorney at all.People should save their legal fees for realistic issues.  Are there tax ramifications in the business formation choice?  Are there regulations specific to my industry?  What employment laws cover a business of my size?  How big can I grow before these answers change?  Those are all questions worth paying for.  I would even say that "What are my chances of getting away with selling food without a food & beverage license if I limit it to 4 packs each of tic-tacs, Doritos, and coca cola?" is a better question than the radio / CD question. Can I blast Megadeath in my small game store? That question is probably not even in the top 20.  If you scare people into thinking they cannot cross the street without an attorney consultation, they will just dismiss the idea of opening their own business entirely, which hurts everyone.</blockquote>

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