I just found a story about a case that I thought was worth sharing because I think it's very important.

Apparently the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), is suing a number of restaurants, bars and night clubs for playing their music. Not selling it, just playing it.

ASCAP says that playing the music, even from a purchased cd, is a violation of copyright law if they are not paying royalties.

Ok...I understand the argument against downloading music and the whole bit about intellectual property rights and they're right. But, this is a bit much.

When people go out to bars and hear music they are also being exposed to music they may not have heard. That's how you make new fans. You have to get the music out there.

With the increasing cost of cd's and downloads, people don't want to buy an album for $18 when they don't know if they're going to like it or not.

The real money is made on the tours and from merchandise sold at shows. FAR more than is made on albums.

Pick on the record companies, not the people who are exposing potential new fans to your music. The record companies are the real thieves in the music business.