media Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 My friend (A bar owner in Jomtien) was raided by about 5 Thai guys dressed in black jackets, They extorted 50.000 baht saying that it's illegal to play Thai music blar blar blar Does anyone know the real law on this? Is there an official license that can be purchased to avoid this harsh corruption fining that seams to have sparked up again, and where is it purchased? A friend recently said that he had a license, the police said that that company had gone bankrupt and the license is no longer valid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazmlb Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The only two licenses I knew of were from RKT and One Stop, but think both don't cover Thai music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehricaholic Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 No uniform, No badges, Call the BiB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exsexyman Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 No uniform, No badges, Call the BiB Good luck with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehricaholic Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 No uniform, No badges, Call the BiB Good luck with that! They will drop what they are doing and come with guns blazing if they think someone is trying to muscle in on the tea trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docwho Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I am a former bar/restaurant owner. There is no license in existence to play music, me and the wife went to the government offices and checked it out. The authorities are very keen on copyright issues however. You can have your true TV on the music channels and everything will be ok but if a Thai artist/video comes on you will be nicked if you are unlucky and a passing cop walks in. Likewise pirated cd's or dvd's, they will come in and search through you stuff to see if you have any and if you are playing them in your bar - then they will nick you. Otherwise everythings ok no problem! I never played any cd's or dvd's even if genuine - I used the Grooveshark website to play my music and had no trouble whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankxxxxxxxxxx Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 If there is no law for music just don't pay them anything ! ------ ------ SENT FROM MOBILE ------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljones Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 If there is no law for music just don't pay them anything ! ------ ------ SENT FROM MOBILE ------ It's the mafia. Anyone you can complain to is part of the problem. Pay them now or pay them later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOODLOVER Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I am a former bar/restaurant owner. There is no license in existence to play music, me and the wife went to the government offices and checked it out. The authorities are very keen on copyright issues however. You can have your true TV on the music channels and everything will be ok but if a Thai artist/video comes on you will be nicked if you are unlucky and a passing cop walks in. Likewise pirated cd's or dvd's, they will come in and search through you stuff to see if you have any and if you are playing them in your bar - then they will nick you. Otherwise everythings ok no problem! I never played any cd's or dvd's even if genuine - I used the Grooveshark website to play my music and had no trouble whatsoever. I have to disagree, there are three licensed required to play music. The ones that we had ( just closed RP on the 30th of last month) allowed us to play foreign music only. There is a Thai license requirement as well that we did not have nor need. My encounter with these people was quite turbulent. They showed up unannounced and i required a warrant (LOL) to let them in and picked up the phone and called my lawyer. One sat at my laptop which i closed forcefully on his hands, He was quite pissed off by this point( there were three). By the time my BIB security detail arrived and my lawyer showed the music police were all on the patio smoking and pissed right off. I was told that i had to release all my computers including my personal to the Police and they would hold them until the music police could verify my licensing and that i had no illegal music on them. Turns out the licenses that we purchased were purchased from an officer who had been fired for selling illegal licenses. Therefore mine were illegal and i was liable. Go figure. My fine went from 50,000 to 20,000 baht and my computers were returned cleaned and they returned two new HDMI cables that had gone missing in the removal and recovery. We then purchased new licenses from the applicable department. We always got a warning about a Microsoft or music fuzz visit from that point on, usually a day ahead. (Unless things have changed in the last 5 years.) The lady 2 doors down handled it Thai style and chased them out with a big stick when they were trying to confiscate her illegal cd's. The music police took off like a shot when the old lady threw a bottle at them. Funny really but if i had handled it that way i think the circumstances would have been quite different. I will verify if the requirements have changed but please give me 24 hours, have a great one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOODLOVER Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) You can contact Sony or Grammy in Bangkok, they can sell you both an International and Thai music license bundle. We had one of those as well as a cigarette and and alcohol license. So three on the wall. A correction if i may, we bought our fake license from a previous employee from Grammy not from an officer. Watch out for the Microsoft Fuzz as they come round as well. Edited February 10, 2012 by FOODLOVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChangFai Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Cigarette license ? ...... LoL ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOODLOVER Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Cigarette license ? ...... LoL ! If one wants to be legal a license to sell cigarettes is required. Live and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangBuddha Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I am a former bar/restaurant owner. There is no license in existence to play music, me and the wife went to the government offices and checked it out. The authorities are very keen on copyright issues however. You can have your true TV on the music channels and everything will be ok but if a Thai artist/video comes on you will be nicked if you are unlucky and a passing cop walks in. Likewise pirated cd's or dvd's, they will come in and search through you stuff to see if you have any and if you are playing them in your bar - then they will nick you. Otherwise everythings ok no problem! I never played any cd's or dvd's even if genuine - I used the Grooveshark website to play my music and had no trouble whatsoever. Sounds like they are just enforcing the law to me...good on them. Foreigners doing business in Thailand should comply with all laws and regulations that are applicable to their business. There are legitimate agents for businesses that want to play copy righted material in public venues. PM to me if you need a referral for an English speaking lawyer in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWalkingMan Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 When someone goes to the government office to get a business license for setting up a bar/restaurant (wanting to sell cigarettes/wanting to play music) do they provide a list of the laws and compliances or is it just, here is your license and good luck. Is there a business license government agency with a check list - Do you want to sell cigarettes y/n Do you want to sell alcohol y/n Do you want to play Thai or foreign music y/n And once you've made your selections they give you the contact information to the license issuer(s)? Does that happen or is it one of those things where you need rely on word of mouth and hope that you have all the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 When someone goes to the government office to get a business license for setting up a bar/restaurant (wanting to sell cigarettes/wanting to play music) do they provide a list of the laws and compliances or is it just, here is your license and good luck. Is there a business license government agency with a check list - Do you want to sell cigarettes y/n Do you want to sell alcohol y/n Do you want to play Thai or foreign music y/n And once you've made your selections they give you the contact information to the license issuer(s)? Does that happen or is it one of those things where you need rely on word of mouth and hope that you have all the info. That's what Lawyers are for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 The way FOODLOVER handled his issue is perfect... You are probably going to pay, but to do so so readily just singles you out as an easy target. Put up some resistance, why not? it's simply a game to be played, think of it only as that, don't take anything personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBKK Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have to admit , this is a persistent problem. But a a good indication who you are dealing with are actualy are the guns. Thesakit (volunteer police/no guns) and one single armed guy roaming the city for years. They will seize your gear , arrest your staff and demand compensation. The question here: get your lawyer cellphone-nr (aka standby and I pay him to pick up 24/7) – some good ones will even refuse to charge you for that! ( he wont be a happy camper when I cal him in the middle of the night!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
media Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 A friend plays a (paid) internet radio channel from an ipad in his restaurant I wonder what they would make of that? Anyway There must be someone that people can call if they get the heavies in trying to remove all their computers etc.. Surely they cant just turn up and go taking peoples computers without warrant? Has anyone noticed that they always seam to turn up at night? I think the confiscation of computers is used to upset the owner and get leverage incase the owner refuses to pay anything. I would like to hear from someone who refused to pay anything and chose to go to court instead? At the end of the day there must be a way that bar owners can protect themselves from this corruption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I'm quite sure if you check the licence conditions for that paid internet channel you will find it is for personal consumption only - not public like in a bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoodMaiDai Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I like the part about the Thai lady chasing them off with a big stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) At the end of the day there must be a way that bar owners can protect themselves from this corruption. Some of the businesses in Chiang Mai that were close to each other got together and made a pact to help each other. When the con artists came to one business, the others all came over and demanded a search warrant, took pictures of the fake music police and their vehicles, refused to allow them to take their computers and refused to allow them to kidnap any staff. It happened several times and was reported on the internet, so lots of people knew about it. Shortly afterwards they went back to Pattaya. The problem is that maybe the real police in Pattaya are more willing to help them than in Chiang Mai. However, before people started refusing to go with them, they were bringing the staff that went with them to the police station to a desk in the lobby (that they must have paid to use, but they would never actually bring them any further inside. Then they would call the employer and start negotiating how much they had to pay to get them back. Edited February 11, 2012 by Ulysses G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 UG^^^^^ was that the one with the woman in the black Fortuna? If you want to know if you are being scammed, try this. Ask in what the name the cheque should be made payable, RSS Grammy Thailand? If they refuse a cheque you are being scammed, if the cheque isnt to be made payable to a company name you are being scammed. I remember a poster posting on here before, he actually contacted the relevant Thai authorities, and was told they dont have people in the field collecting money. If you decide to give them a cheque, ask for a copy of the headmans ID, photocopy it, then ask him to sign the photocopy saying he has recieved payment.. Next day phone bank and cancel cheque. It aint rocket science, why do you think they always show up at night? Alternativley, tell them to come back in the morning, gives you time to contact your lawyer, or tell them to accompany you to the police station, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 UG^^^^^ was that the one with the woman in the black Fortuna? Yes. That is the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DisainaM Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOODLOVER Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) It's cheap and easy, get the proper icenses and no worries. Next time they come in they cant do a thing as you are legal. They do have the right to confiscate and verify and if they choose to do this the police must be present and the computers must stay at the popo station. Has any one at the bar ever asked your staff for a pack of smokes? Well if the young lady walked across the street and purchased and returned to give to your guest you are now in violation and can be detained and fined a couple hundred thousand baht i believe and yes they do sting operations. Get all your ducks in a row and when they return they look at your licenses, right some info down and off they go. After our initial fiasco does seem odd that they only came during the day to verify, guess they new we were legal so no excitement. One thing that might be easier is to get a Patts lawyer, they are always going to bkk and they then accept liability if anything hinky occurs. IMHO I do know first hand of one instance of a lady using an ipod for public music in Pattaya. She was held on 200,000 baht and is a Thai lady but the restaurant was farang owned, they would not release her until the fine was paid which took a few days. Edited February 11, 2012 by FOODLOVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 No one seems to know what the "proper licenses" are and there seems to be a sliding scale as how they are accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljones Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 As reported they are even selling fake licenses then busting them later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tolley Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Just another reason not to go into any sort of business in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWalkingMan Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 No one seems to know what the "proper licenses" are and there seems to be a sliding scale as how they are accepted. Yep. Many don't know which licenses are required until the scammers or legit agents come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
media Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Needs more research.. It seams that you DO need separate licenses to Play Foreign & Thai music in public places such as bar/restaurant My wife phoned "One Stop" they confirmed that they used to send out agents to collect payments and check licenses but the agents STOLE most of the money and ran away, and at this time they do not have ANY agents going around collecting for them! I would love to "GUESS" that the Official Agents for "Thai music rights" that are going around try to BUST people for Foreign music as well and CASH IN on it ????? I will contact OneStop and see if theres a phone number people could call to check the Identity of Agents that may Turn up extorting Cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now