Results tagged “pianos”

This just in: an employee over at Pianos on Ludlow Street has just informed us that the venue suffered some damages from a fire earlier this morning. He tells us, "There was a small electrical fire at Pianos this morning—the sprinklers went off and soaked everything, so we're going to have to close the club tonight. Things will resume as normal tomorrow for the Unisex Salon/Vulture Whale show."

Well, they didn't knock him on the noggin like the Tony Awards, but they did play his song "Talk Dirty to Me" without permission. Cityfile reports on the latest in ASCAP/BMI lawsuits filed against New York clubs, saying "Earlier this week, BMI and a collection of labels and artists filed suit against Pianos on the Lower East Side" for playing that tune and others. The companies have been on a rampage, attacking Jay-Z's 40/40 club, Hiro, Cafe Wha? and others, but the site makes a good point: "securing the rights isn't all that expensive. A blanket license from ASCAP, for example, supposedly goes for as little as a dollar a day." Maybe a little more; when we talked to ASCAP VP Vincent Candilora, he told us "the average annual license fee for all bars, restaurants, nightclubs and similar establishments is less than $2.50 a day. With a maximum annual cost of $912.50." Well, the club certainly charges enough for their drinks to cover that cost, no?