Seattle’s Pono Ranch faces lawsuit alleging copyright infringement

Pono Ranch is one of many defendants in an upcoming lawsuit accusing the local indoor-outdoor bar and concert venue of copyright infringement.

The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) filed the suit on Monday and named Pono Ranch as the defendant in the case.

Pono Ranch sued for copyright infringement

ASCAP claimed that Pono Ranch offered “unauthorized public performances of its members’ copyrighted musical works” for patrons at their establishment.

Additionally, ASCAP noted that it made numerous attempts to offer and educate business owners about its license, which averages less than $2 per day to play an unlimited amount of music from its collection.

“Each of the establishments sued today has chosen to infringe upon the hard work of songwriters instead of licensing the music they play, despite repeated notifications and opportunities to do so,” said ASCAP Executive Vice President, Head of Licensing Stephanie Ruyle.

Two specific infringements were cited in the suit, which included the songs “Creep” by Radiohead and “Plush” by Stone Temple Pilots, both played in April, among other copyrighted songs that Pono Ranch had played, according to The Seattle Times.

“The reality is that because music adds enormous value to a bar, it’s what convinces patrons to show up, stay longer, spend more money on food and drinks…establishments are advertising the fact that they have music,” Wagener told The Seattle Times.

Senior Vice President of ASCAP, Jackson Wagener, claimed that ASCAP had contacted Pono Ranch by phone, email, and written letters “over a hundred times,” spanning several years, and Pono Ranch was not compliant.

“It’s only after repeated efforts to communicate and license that we ultimately end up, usually a year or more down the road, in a copyright infringement litigation,” Wagener told The Seattle Times.

Copyrights’ effect on artists

ASCAP included in the statement that its songwriters earn their livelihoods by licensing the performance rights granted to them, and roughly 90% of the license fees that ASCAP collects go directly to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers as royalties.

“As songwriters and composers, we must earn our livelihoods through our creative work, and music is how we put food on the table and send our kids to school,” said ASCAP Chairman and President Paul Williams.

“Most businesses know that an ASCAP license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently, and at a reasonable price–while compensating music creators fairly,” Williams continued.

ASCAP uses the size of each venue and other variables to calculate its price of copyright license, which requires larger venues to pay larger-than-average licensing fees.

Wagener noted that, as for Pono Ranch, the business is recognized as having a large venue, and the total price for an ASCAP license would be greater than $2 per day, or more than $750 annually.

“For a place like Pono Ranch, it could be in the low four figures,” Wagener told The Seattle Times.

KIRO Newsradio spoke with Pono Ranch manager John Burgett, who believes the two sides can find a resolution.

“Pono Ranch has been in business now for 12 years and we’ve always endeavor to make decisions and customers are the first priority so it’s something that I haven’t seen the details of this lawsuit so I can’t really comment on that but I’m sure they [the owners] will be able to come up with a good solution,” Burgett said.

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