Music clampdown
KFC, Burger King among those facing possible court action for ‘playing without paying’
“If you play you must pay.” – JACAP
THE JAMAICA Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP) is stepping up its efforts to clamp down on business establishments which violate the copyright of musicians by playing music without paying.
Two of the island’s leading fast-food establishments, Restaurants of Jamaica and Restaurant Associates Limited, are among the first to face the wrath of JACAP and are facing the prospect of legal action, having been accused of owing millions of dollars for copyright violations.
According to JACAP’s General Manager Lydia Rose, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to get Restaurants of Jamaica, franchise holder for the KFC and Pizza Hut brands locally, and Restaurant Associates Limited, franchise operators of Burger King and Popeye’s Chicken & Seafood in Jamaica, to pay for the music they play in their stores.
“Restaurants of Jamaica and Restaurant Associates owe millions of dollars. They have not responded to our request for payment for the past two years, so we have had our lawyers write them a demand letter, and the next step is to carry them to court.”
Director of marketing for Restaurants of Jamaica, Tina Myers Matalon, indicated that her company has been in contact with JACAP, as it seeks clarification on the issue.
“We have been, and are currently, in contact with JACAP representatives seeking further clarification to their claim,” said Myers in an emailed response to The Sunday Gleaner.
In the meantime, Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Associates Limited Richard Lake said he was not aware of any claims of copyright violation.
“It hasn’t come to my attention, and if it did I would tell
them to switch to news and sports or not play anything at all,” Lake told The Sunday Gleaner.
“Music doesn’t generate any business for us in the stores; people don’t come to my store to listen to music,” added Lake.
According to Rose, JACAP is targeting food establishments with popular seafood restaurant, Pier One in Montego Bay, St James, also on its radar.
COPYRIGHT ACT
“Whoever uses copyright music, based on the Copyright Act, whether bars, restaurants or boats, we are clamping down,” said Rose.
“The stores downtown and in other areas that play music; some are compliant and some aren’t, and we are clamping down on everybody who aren’t.
“Courts is very compliant, Island Grill as a fast-food restaurant is extremely compliant, we have a supermarket like Hi-Lo that is extremely compliant. So if these entities are being good corporate citizens the others need to come on board,” added Rose.
Last week, our news team saw several stores in downtown Kingston with speaker boxes inside and outside playing loud music.
Owen Reynolds, one of the managers at Woolworth’s King Street branch, said he was aware that playing copyright music without a permit from JACAP is illegal and they only pipe regular radio stations through their speakers.
But several other store operators said they were not aware that they were required to pay to play.
“My workers play a little music; that’s it,” one manager said. “It is not against the law.