Eatery’s royalty pains

Piped-in music suit

A New Jersey restaurateur is singing a defiant tune after getting sued for playing Elton John and Rolling Stones songs without permission.

Broadcast Music Inc., an artistsrights group that enforces copyright laws for more than 8.5 million songs, claims Amici III in Linden didn’t have a license when it played four tunes in its eatery one night last year, including the beloved “Bennie and the Jets” and “Brown Sugar.”

The company sued Amici III in New Jersey Federal Court, winning a $24,000 judgment earlier this year, as well as more than $8,200 in attorney’s fees.

But Amici owner Giovanni Lavorato simply won’t face the music.

“It’s not fair. They look to me for free money. I think they should stay away from restaurants that are trying to make a living,” he told The Post.

Lavorato, who has been in business 25 years, says he has a license from the city of Linden that allows him to have live music in his establishment. The disc jockey his son brought into the eatery also paid a fee to play tunes, Lavorato believes.

“It’s ridiculous for me to pay somebody also,” he said. “This is not a nightclub. This is not a disco joint . . . How many times do they want to get paid for the stupid music?”

Lavorato is doing it his way.

“I don’t talk to the judges. I don’t talk to anybody. I just don’t want to talk to any of these people, because it’s illegal to try and take money from people,” he insists. “I’m in the restaurant business, not the entertainment business. They should stay way from me.”

BMI regularly sues eateries, bars and other businesses for playing music without coughing up licensing fees, which range from $357 annually for a jukebox, to $5.85 per audience member for a week’s worth of live performances.

Some places can end up paying more then $10,000 for the right to play music in public.

BMI went after a number of Jersey Shore venues recently, including Bobby Dee’s Rock’N Chair in Avalon, last year, alleging the restaurant played seven songs, including the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” without first paying BMI.

That case was settled for an undisclosed sum.