God Bless America, because in some other countries, listening to music at work is actually illegal!
Employees of Kwik-Fit Group, a car repair service in the U.K., has been summoned by the Performing Rights Society. The society, which collects royalties for songwriters and performers, said that Kwik-Fit has been infringing on musical copyrights.
To make matters worse, at a procedural hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, a judge refused to dismiss the £200,000 damages claim.
Kwik-Fit employees use personal radios while working at service centers across the U.K. Because the protected copyright music could be heard by other colleagues and customers, the Performing Rights Society deems this illegal.
Who else gets busted for musical enjoyment? Our neighbor, Canada!
In Canada, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers (SOCAN) prohibits music on the premises of dentists and hairdressers. If customer’s listen to music, SOCAN states it should be paid a fee.
I know here at Grooveshark, we work, breathe and eat music. We love it! If the radio is free and open to the public in your car, why not in a building? This just doesn’t make sense.
Obviously, some jobs require that you concentrate fully on your job. But during a lunch break or some free time, why couldn’t you listen to music? What would you do if your company enforced this policy?
[Via: P2PNet.Net]
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