Music License For Hospitality Industry

Ambience is one of the main factors that are kept in mind while eating out, either when relaxing at a local coffee shop or dining in a restaurant or having a party or enjoying a special event. The music played there contributes to making that place a memorable one. With all our devices connected to multiple music applications, it is easy to listen to any song at any time anywhere. Then there arises a question whether restaurants and hotels can play music? Can they play music by just connecting their speakers to their personal devices? Is this a violation of Copyright Act?

Meaning of Copyright

Copyright has been defined under section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957. This provision¹ grants exclusive right to do or authorize the doing of any of the acts specified therein, in respect of a work or any substantial part thereof in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical work, artistic work, cinematographic film, which is not a computer programme. The original