West Chester bar Lori’s Roadhouse sued for copyright infringement over live cover shows

The bar promoted a Thanksgiving Eve party on its social media pages, highlighting the event would be “a tribute to 90s country music” featuring performances by 94LOW and Corey and The Hookers.

Neither band was named in the lawsuit, but the bar and its owners, Greg Fisher and Tyler Wogenstahl, were named.

“Some people mistakenly assume that musicians and entertainers must obtain licenses to perform copyrighted music, or that businesses where music is performed can shift their responsibility to musicians or entertainers,” reads an FAQ on the licenses on ASCAP’s website. “The law says all who participate in, or are responsible for, performances of music are legally responsible. Since it is the business owner who obtains the ultimate benefit from the performance, it is the business owner who obtains the license. Music license fees are one of the many costs of doing business.”

According to the lawsuit, at the Thanksgiving Eve party, three songs were performed without the proper licensing: Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde performed by Travis Tritt and written by James Aldridge and James LeBlanc, Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson and Creep by Radiohead.

The lawsuit was one of several filed nationwide by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers. ASCAP is a membership association that operates as a non-profit to “ensure its members can earn a living from their art by licensing the public performances of their songs,” according to a press release announcing the lawsuit.

“We want every business that uses music to prosper, including bars and restaurants,” said Paul Williams, songwriter and ASCAP chairman of the board and president. “As songwriters and composers, we must earn our livelihoods through our creative work, and music is how we put food on the table and send our kids to school. Most businesses know that an ASCAP license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently and at a reasonable price while compensating music creators fairly.”

According to the lawsuit, ASCAP has made licensing offers to Lori’s Roadhouse that were all denied.

“Going back several years, ASCAP representatives have contacted the defendants or their representatives via mail, telephone and email,” reads the lawsuit.

According to ASCAP’s website, licenses for music represented by the organization are based on the size of the business and how the music is used. The website says ASCAP’s lowest annual fee is just over $1 per day, but it does not lay out further pricing brackets. The organization says it offers over 100 different licenses and rate schedules.

The lawsuit also says ASCAP has warned Lori’s Roadhouse and its owners that unlicensed performances at the bar are an infringement on copyrights of the musical works.

The lawsuit is asking Lori’s Roadhouse to halt public performances of musical compositions that are under copyright, without the proper licensing agreement. It also asks the bar and its owners to pay statutory damages.

Those damages could range from a minimum of $750 per song to a maximum of $30,000 per song — meaning Lori’s Roadhouse could be asked to pay up to $90,000 in damages for the three songs cited in the lawsuit.

Lori’s Roadhouse is one of 15 businesses named nationwide in lawsuits filed by ASCAP over unlicensed live performances.

The other businesses facing a lawsuit are: