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The bar I work at wasn't contacted until 6 yrs after the new owner took over.

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My point is that sure Ascap/Bmi may not have contacted them, but they should have done some research before opening a bar in what the costs would be, including ASCAP/BMI.

One can probably open a business and sometimes go for some time without paying taxes, before the government catches you. Of course then you will have to pay various fines and back taxes.

The new business owner can "claim" "I didnt't know I had to pay taxes", but it strains credibility.

It would just seem that to open a business, any business a prudent person would do a bit of research into what one has to pay on a regular basis before they even decide to open their doors.

There are a lot of organizations, business bureaus etc that help you set up a business and I am sure that ASCAP/BMI is on the checklists on the things to do.

Thank you ALL for the kind words, but i believe MOST OF YOU here are the type of caring people to appreciate what you have and would gladly help another person out, if you were able to.

The owner is a very nice man but is very tight with money as he still takes care of his 6 grown children, so $14,000 is a lot of money to him although he does very well at this fairly large venue. I'm fairly certain he will pay the membership fees, he just wants out of the big money fines.

The KJ that works there is only 29 years old and she doesn't have much work skills since she had one child very early on and dropped out of high school. The husband got into trouble in Iraq, was dishonorably discharged, and has yet to find a job. He also is an alcoholic at 31 years old. The have a 13 year old and a 2 year old and live in a small studio apt and she pays the bills from kj-ing and gov't help. She has a great upbeat personality and a good heart, so how could I NOT wanna help out!

I will post updates as i receive them, but i'm trying hard NOT to pry too much since it's not my place of business.

Dr. Fred, i understand where you're coming from, but here, it seems not a lot of extensive research is done by locals who open businesses, for whatever reason. They don't have the same know-how or experience the mainlanders have, in my experience speaking to a lot of people here. I have only lived here 5 years myself, so i DO understand your thoughts.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and comment on this thread!

IMO, Fred, you over estimate what one can learn through due diligence about ASCAP, BMI and the like when starting a business. I would guess that if you call your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau and specifically ask about ASCAP and the like, whomever you speak with is unlikely to know a thing about them and their fees! If you do find someone who is immediately familiar with the subject my guess would be that their familiarity exists because they or a member who they are familiar with went through the same learning process as did those discussed in thread.

I, for example, know a gentleman who managed bars for years but didn't know about ASCAP and the like until he purchased a bar and they showed up at his little "hole in the wall" place! I was in business for years before I learned about those organizations and my retail business was approached because we played the radio for the enjoyment of our shoppers!

What kind of business do your own/manage, Fred? And for how long?

Although I don't know how your reference to "ignorance" helps the OP, I am curious as to how credibility is strained by ignorance?

This isn't something most bar owners would even know to research. Most bars even running tv only has to pay and the majority don't even know they have to. The bar I work now didn't know anything about ascap & the likes until they started getting letters a couple years after I started working there. They even had live music before that. So as much as one would believe they 'should' research this, many don't even know it's something that needs to be researched.
Taxes are different, you are a business, you pay taxes.

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