MIke, you ask excellent questions that are best answered by an attorney (and I am not one). My understanding is that your home is not a public place and therefore the your performance at home is not considered to be public.
I am a piano teacher and I sometimes have recitals in my home. My opinion is that these are not public events. The audience is comprised of invited guests. If I were to open up the recital to the public, then different rules would apply even though the venue is my home.
I have heard at least one music publisher offer the opinion that the recital in my home is a public event under all circumstances. I disagree, and fortunately there seem to be no publishers who are willing to challenge music teachers on this subject.
Typical public venues where you hear music pay blanket license fees to organizations that are comprised of rights holders (such as ASCAP, BMI, and SEACUS). The amount of money that they pay is negotiated based on the size of the venue and the frequency of the performances.
There are many grey areas in the law, and there are a number of principles that a judge would weigh when the circumstances seem to fall into the cracks.
Regards,
PianoBench
On Dec 4, 2010, at 5:53 PM, Mike Bensusen wrote:
To Whom It May Concern:Can you please give me some more clarity on this subject? Does this mean that if I buy a piece of sheet music, take it home, hand play it on my piano and someone happens to walk in, because I left my front door open, then I have to pay a performance fee. Where do you draw the line of a public place? If I sing it in the shower the gas company is making money on the extra hot water because I stay in there longer, who has to pay for that, me or the gas company?Thanks,Mike