THE BIZ : Play It Again Scam

Jonathan M. Caron steers his red Prelude through a tangle of cars on Hollywood Boulevard, searching for copyright culprits. He spots the old China Club. It’s a prime opportunity to drop in on the new owners, who will probably be stunned when Caron tells them that they’ll owe money for playing “The Jetsons” theme or whatever other song is in the background.

When a business plays recorded music or stages live performances of recorded songs, the owners of the copyright are owed a fee. It’s Caron’s job to make sure they get it: He’s a music-licensing executive for Broadcast Music Inc., which, for a fee, grants the rights to play the music of the 150,000 composers and publishers it represents.

Besides bars and clubs, Caron scouts aerobics studios and funeral parlors, virtually any business that plays recorded music. Should a firm refuse to pay for a BMI license and continue to play its music, BMI’s legal department can take it to court. Fines can reach $100,000 per violation.

“People can get heated about having to pay, but I avoid confrontations,” says Caron, 25, who plays music cop for Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Barbara counties. “My job is to educate owners about their responsibilities.”

Inside the old China Club, an official of the Los Angeles Church of Christ, which recently bought the building, tells Caron that the area upstairs will be used for private parties, video shoots and record signings. Worship services will be held downstairs. Caron scans the vast upstairs hall, scribbling notes: bar, dance floor, drums, microphones, speakers, amplifiers, TVs. Each item, and the use of BMI music it likely represents, is factored into the cost of the license.

The city’s zoning department, Caron is told, is still deciding whether any of the establishment qualifies as a place of worship, which would make it exempt from fees. Caron smiles and hands the owner an estimate of $1,200 a year for a license that allows it to use all BMI music.

“People will go to great lengths to avoid compliance,” says Caron, back on Hollywood Boulevard. “But it’s hard to ignore that bar and dance floor upstairs.”