Work permit and M.E visa to non b

[aalek85th]

Hello,

I know there was already few topics like these, but they are really old.. from 2007 to 2009. I'm not sure if this is a right forum as well, so mods.. if I posted this in a wrong forum, sorry.

Anyway my gfs bar got raided last night, by police/scammers .. I have no idea who exactly they where. They took the dvd player that got usb hooked on it, with music i downloaded from internet for her. They also took her to police station, where she 'negotiated' the price. As far as I know first they wanted 50k bht, then she managed to lower it to 30k baht. Since she actually negotiated, I assume it's not a fine but a bribe to let her go. I had no idea you need a 'licence' in Thailand, to play music... having all those people selling pirated dvds on the street.

Now I'm wondering what kind of licence is needed for playing farang music through DVD player and later through laptop hooked on internet (.. internet radios, youtube..) ? I assume you need multiple licences, but i have no idea what exactly, and where to get them. I read there's some kind of web site/company that does this, 1stopmusic, but their site is down.

Any up2date information greatly appreciated.

[dazk]

pattaya thread on this should help or pm for all the info

[aalek85th]

Ok, for reference .. here's the url to pattaya thread i found ... kinda helpful.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/558839-music-license-sharks-at-it-again/page__hl__%20music__st__50

I came in to the bar when they already took the dvd player, and where there for about 10 minutes or so. I don't know exactly what happened, and I have no rights here anyway so I couldn't interfere. What bothers me now is that actually she agreed to pay 30k, but didn't have more then 20k at the spot .. so the guy said to her ok you pay 20k now, in 3 days - 10k more. It's been one day how it happened.. so will see what will happen.

Don't know if we should just tell them to fuc_k off or pay up 10k more. Oh btw... the bar was opened for 2 hours. It was kinda an opening night.

Anyway.. on the above link I couldn't find any solid info about streaming from internet radios. I gathered that playing music from 'real' radio is ok, but music on thai radio stations just suck donkey balls... all new age pop top hits hard core crap, so I'm wondering if anyone knows specifics to internet radio streaming ?

The thing is that she's a 27yr old girl, and afraid of authority figues, like police or some of these scammers that even if they scam people, still have connections to police, and I can't help her because I can't speak Thai and I'm a 'tourist' here anyway. So I'm just wondering if there's a way to deal with this in such a way that you don't have to discuss anything with them.

Having a 'under the table' deal with popo is also an option. I mean... I want her do everything legal, but legal system obviously ain't working here.

[BrianCR]

You need a performing rights licence (copyright licence) to play music in all public places not just bars. The fine for mot having one is collected on behalf of the copyright holders by an enforcement group who are accompanied by local police officers and it is payable at a local police station, receipts are usually issued and the amount payable can be negotiated (usually between 20/50,000 depending on the place used and who you may know), Don't cry over split milk, your g/f got caught using copyrighted music pay the fine and get a licence. The enforcement group are usually only interested in Thai music

[terryp]

They also took her to police station..................

you have answered your own question.

You need 2 licences 1 from Grammy and the other licence from some other Thai outfit (that is part of Sony i think)...they are PPR licence..public performance rights (you also actually need them for showing a TV in a bar that plays music like MTV etc or music dvds)

PPR is no joke and they have been going around Thailand for about 10 years now...bottom line get the licences NOW and pay up or they will be back and it can mean a serious fine next time (much more than 30 grand)

I think the licence is around 10,000 baht for a small bar but its all calculated on how many customers your bar can cater for...and its a yearly licence (both of them)

Edited September 9, 2012 by terryp

[Phronesis]

This happened to a mate of mine who has a bar in Phuket. The fine was originally 50KTHB negotiated down to 25KTHB. The scam is a regular backstop for the BIB when the coffers are a bit low (like right now at the end of high season).

As other posters have already stated there are two issues.

1. The first is having your music licence. This is easy and cheap to obtain and most bars have one (you would be a fool not to have your girl get one).

2. The second issue is using downloaded music on a memory stick or pirated dvds/cds.

The second issue is EASILY AVOIDABLE. And so is the cost of buying new cds/dvds (that are often, lost, stolen or damaged anyway) or wasting time downloading pirated material. Here's how:

1. If your bar does not already have one, get an internet connection

2. Buy a low cost pc tower from Tesco or super cheap. Price circa 7000THB

3. Locate the PC in a locked room or cupboard, preferably in an upstairs room. Make sure there is NOTHING whatsoever stored on the hardrive. (with the exceptions of an operating system and the firefox browser application)

4. Fit a 1.5mm jack plug to a roll of figure 8 speaker cable. Plug the jack into the speaker socket of the PC

5. Run the cable from the back of the PC (downstairs) to your stereo amplier and connect it to one of the input sockets. Take care to hide the cable, especially where it comes out of your locked room or cupboard containing the PC tower

6. Use Google to browse the internet to search for any of the THOUSANDS of freely available online music streaming websites. Bookmark your favourites (or those that best suit the theme of your gf's bar)

7. Problem solved

Many people run into problems with the BIB in their bars because they are drunks, plain stupid, or lazy. With a little care and foresight many of the risks that set one up for a tea money payment can be engineered out of your operations.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Phronesis

[Time Traveller]

It's not a music license, it's a copyright license from the owners of the music, like Warner Bros, Grammy, etc... Yes, playing any recorded music, whether mp3, streaming from internet, TV, or radio to a public audience in a restaurant or bar is illegal unless you have permission, usually by paying royalty fees to the copyright owner.

If you have a bar or restaurant then you should already know this. By the way, it's usually music company reps that tip off the police as they know exactly which places have paid license fees and which haven't.

And it's not one license, but one from each company whose songs you play

Edited September 9, 2012 by Time Traveller

[bbradsby]

Falls under the 'Good-to-know' category for me, an architect & construction manager. I know nothing of these type of 'agency approvals' costs related to opening a venue. Just the design & engineering, and all of the 'hard' construction costs.

[therealmrbrightside]

What about if you were playing purchased music from Apple itunes media? Surely you wouldn't need to pay for a licence to play music??

[cattoc]

Cool info - any links / details on where to buy the PPR licence in BKK... thanks

[monty]

What about if you were playing purchased music from Apple itunes media? Surely you wouldn't need to pay for a licence to play music??

Yes you do.

There is a difference between a license to play music for your personal use (which is what you get when you purchase a song), and playing that song in a public place.

For the latter you need a special license.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

[monty]

Cool info - any links / details on where to buy the PPR licence in BKK... thanks

http://www.mpcmusic.co.th/en/index.php?menu=home

This company covers most (but not all!) Western music.

There are a few more companies with very small repertoires, and it is likely them initiating raids...

For Thai music you would need a whole bunch of them to cover most popular music... Most farang bars don't bother, but you have to really keep Thai music of the property, including cd's or whatever from the staff.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

[aalek85th]

Ok thanks y'all. I called MPC music but they didn't answer (17:30h PM). Will call them again tomorrow morning. I personally, am only interested in playing mostly old classic rock tunes, though some of the newer music is also planned. I saw on MPC (big thanks for the link) site they represent sony/warner bros and few others, I think that covers a lot of western artists. But this time will check personally which artists fall under licence from MPC.. so next time they come I'll be prepared. Would like to be able to tell these guys to sod off, and know I'm legally covered.

GMM Grammy as far as I gathered is a Thai company, responsible for Thai music.. so not sure if I need one from them, though will call them too so they explain what they all about.

Btw, they didn't come for 10k baht more they said they would. So we only payed 20k.