A public performance license is permission to perform a work at a place open to the public or where a substantial number of people outside of a normal circle of family and friends is gathered. It includes transmitting or broadcasting the work, whether the members of the public are capable of receiving the performance receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times. The MLC is not involved in public performance licenses or royalties.
Public performance licenses for the performance of musical works are generally granted by performing rights organizations, like ASCAP, BMI, AllTrack, SESAC, and GMR, as blanket licenses. These organizations collect performance royalties from entities responsible for presenting the performance, such as radio stations, night clubs, and digital service providers, and pay them on to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers.
Public performance licenses for the performance of sound recordings via digital transmission are generally granted as compulsory licenses under section 114 of the U.S. copyright law. These licenses are administered by SoundExchange, which also collects royalties from non-interactive digital service providers (including webcasters and satellite radio) and pays them on to artists and sound recording copyright owners.
