If you thought going out to eat was expensive, consider the steep price for being caught playing unlicensed music in a restaurant: $7,612 per song. Now, multiply that by four. That’s how much the owners of North Carolina-based Fosters American Grille have been ordered to pay following a successful, aggressive civil lawsuit brought by BMI.
Raleigh’s local news site WRAL covered the ruling last week. North Carolina’s Eastern District court found that defendants Cameron Hospitality Inc. and John Weskett Powers, the owners of the restaurant, had “intentionally and willfully infringed upon the copyrights of four musical compositions owned by [BMI].” A judge awarded the music company $30,450 in damages and another $10,742 for its court and attorney fees.