nacs nl winter 09 - ontariohomeshows.com

2009 Q4

ShowProducer

A Publication of the National Association of Consumer Shows

Continued on page 4

It may surprise many readers of this industry magazine, but there are actually new facilities coming on line here in North America specifi-cally designed to handle consumer shows. You may be more amazed to discover that even before the doors open, one facility has booked sev-eral major consumer events for the next twelve months. Perhaps it is the unique model Dwayne McK-illop has created in Hamilton, On-tario that seems to be reviving an industry suffering from the doldrums across many other parts of the conti-nent. McKillop, an industry veter-an who has spoken several times on sales and sponsorships at the NACS annual conference, has consumer event experience in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. He created Continuum Productions in 2007 and is about to open the Careport Centre, a former warehouse in McMaster’s Innova-

tion Park. It’s a 170,000 square foot complex centrally located in the suburban heartland at the western end of Lake Ontario.

With a population of just over 500,000, Hamilton is only a few miles from Toronto, its much larg-er neighbor and home to at least four major consumer show facili-ties. Venues do exist in the suburbs, however size matters! In Hamilton, Copps Coliseum and Ivor Wynne stadium are smaller facilities better suited to sporting events and con-certs. Apart from the Hamilton Convention Centre, which is ideal for sales meetings, conferences and local events, there are no major consumer venues between the west end of Toronto and Niagara Falls to serve a population of more than eight million. McKillop saw a gold-en opportunity!

McKillop grew up in the Ham-

NACS Insurance

Program Brings Value and

Protection to Members

Allison Steeves, Shoff Darby Companies

No matter what kinds of shows you produce, consumer show produc-ers all share the same issues when it comes to protecting their business. You all have contracts with venues and ex-hibitors and sometimes sponsors. The purpose of those contracts is to limit and distribute liability amongst the parties involved. A large part of these contracts fall into the area of insurance coverage.

When you rent space at a venue you are contractually obligated to provide liability insurance coverage for bodily injury and property damage which may occur within the rented space. This is

Tough Economy Doesn’t Slow Down Opening of New Show Facility!

Karl Eichner

Continued on page 6

At one end Hampton Roads has its fabled resort beaches. At the other, celebrated

history in Williamsburg and Jamestown. Now a state-of-the-art 344,000 square-foot

convention center has emerged in the center of it all, with meeting space for up to

14,000 delegates. You’re centrally located, so after the meeting’s

over you can hit those beaches, take in that history or, just a

stroll’s distance away, enjoy specialty shopping, themed restaurants

and after hours entertainment. For a convention destination video and booking

information, call toll-free 800-487-8778

(Sales) or 866-829-6355 (Operations) or

visit www.thehrcc.com.

shouldn’t a convention center actually

be in the center of something?

shouldn’t a convention center actually

be in the center of something?

Artillery_NACS_2009.qxd 8/31/09 11:59 AM Page 1

2009 Q4 NACS Show Producer

I’m sure ev-eryone is recov-ering from fall events and getting ready for the start of the 2010 show season. While our Iowa fall has been about 20 degrees below av-

erage with rain every other day, I feel like show season is already here. The clock is ticking and there are still lots of booths to rent!

I’m looking for your sales help in promoting the benefits of NACS to po-tential members. While we were able to welcome five new regular and three new associate members at our last board meeting, we are down 12 regular and nine associates net from our pre-Mem-phis total. Sure, this is the trend in most groups we belong to, but let’s get out there and share NACS with our peers and colleagues. The board has been contacting past members with incen-tives to re-join.

We’ve got some cool things to pro-mote now including our brand new, simply amazing competitive insurance

program! Hopefully you’ve noticed this information highlighting real shows sav-ing real money. Contact the NACS of-fice to get more information.

Another valuable benefit is the Tool Kit, which is currently in the update stage. If you have new content, con-tracts, templates, etc. that would be rel-evant to other members please contact the NACS office with that information.

It’s nice to look past the cold weath-er here to next June 23-25, when our an-nual convention rolls into Providence, Rhode Island. The convention commit-tee is working hard on what I’m sure will be another great three days of learning and networking.

I recently read an interesting article from the editor of Boating World maga-zine on the economy. He cited a Mc-Graw-Hill research study that showed those marine companies who aggres-sively advertised during our last eco-nomic meltdown of 1981-82 grew at an astounding 256 percent in the following two years. So let’s get our shows and fa-cilities rented and spread the good word about positive things to come. Best of luck in 2010!

President’s Message2009-2010 Board of DirectorsOfficersPresident John Bunge Iowa Show Productions, Inc.Waterloo, IA

Immediate Past President Kristie Gonsalves North East Expos, Inc. North Granby, CT

Treasurer Les Gray Southeast Productions, Inc. Greensboro, NC

Secretary Allison Steeves Shoff Darby Companies Trumbull, CT

DirectorsMark Adams National Marine Manufacturers Assn. Saint Louis, MO

Mark Concilla Erie Promotions and Expositions, Inc. North East, PA

Jim FrickeColorado Garden Show, Inc.Lakewood, CO

Jacqui McGuinness BomarJBM & Associates, LLCGreenville, SC

George Verdier Sugarloaf Mountain Works, Inc. Germanton, MD

Associate DirectorsGregg Caren SMG Convention Centers West Conshohocken, PA

Richard Lewis Freeman Dallas, TX

Robert Newman AEG Facilities Los Angeles, CA

Megan Tomlinson, CEM Valley Forge Convention Plaza King of Prussia, PA

John Bunge, Iowa Show Productions, Inc.

New Members

Office ClosuresThe NACS office will be

closed on the followings days to share the holidays with our friends and family. Please make a note of these closures on your calendar.

November 26 & 27December 24 & 25January 1

Lacy GibsonHampton Convention & Visitors Bureau

Christine GuedeaWorld Wide Antique Shows

James HarterAdvanstar Communications, Inc

Steven Himmelrich Himmelrich PR, Inc.

Anissa LaddConnecticut Convention Center

Annabell MannersAmericraft Expo Center

Mark MantiniShow Technology

Chris NemchekNASFT

Jay SilbermanIn-Water Power Boat Show, Inc.

Trevor TrumboAdvanstar Communications, Inc.

Carolyn WestonParagon Group

NACS Show Producer 2009 Q4

- Nearly 200 events in 38 states

Adstrategies.com1-888-456-2450

[email protected]

Adstrategies specializes in show advertising representing events for prestigious & respected show producers including:

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ilton region and has worked for nearly two decades in event production. He was Canadian National Sales Manager for the NMMA’s Toronto International Boat Show and later worked for Dmg World Media, leaving as Vice Presi-dent in 2005 to pursue a dream of own-ing his own shows. At Dmg he honed his sponsorship skills, something that would become critical to the launch of Continuum Productions.

Dwayne McKillop strongly be-lieves there is a need for more subur-ban shows versus downtown events. In today’s economy, people are less willing to drive from the suburbs to a large metropolitan area with its inher-ent parking problems, perceived high-er prices and busy streets. “Hamilton is the ideal location for a new exhibit facility. It’s nestled in the heart of the suburbs, surrounded by all the major transportation arteries, so it’s very easy for people to come to events,” said McKillop.

From the beginning, he envi-

sioned a partnership of local private investors and the City of Hamilton to make the Careport Centre a real-ity. “We needed the credibility that known investors and city support bring to a new facility,” said McKillop. So, he teamed up with local business-man Demetrius Tsafaridis, founder and president of the CareGo Group of Companies. Then McKillop ap-proached the city’s economic develop-ment department for advice in setting up the exhibit space. “We certainly didn’t want to undercut other facili-ties,” said Neil Everson, Hamilton’s head of economic development. But he emphasized the department is there to help promising businesses get started and the Careport facility gives the city the largest exhibition space between the International Centre near Pear-son International Airport and Niagara Falls. “That 170,000 square feet is a big chunk of space on one level and makes Hamilton very competitive in attracting events,” he said.

“With the arrival of the Careport

Centre, a show that outgrows Copps Coliseum can still be staged locally,” says Duncan Gillespie, CEO of Ham-ilton Entertainment and Conven-tion Facilities Inc. “Our mandate is to help businesses expand and we did that. Having a much bigger facil-ity here means that business won’t go someplace else. Now more people will come and spend money in Hamilton.”

Naturally, this didn’t all happen overnight. McKillop wanted to run his own show company, so he spent 18 months doing market research on various geographic areas across Can-ada and determined that the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario was a perfect location to set up shop. He reviewed existing facilities and found lots of hockey rinks and convention centers that were not of the size or de-sign to handle large consumer events. With a wish list in hand, he went look-ing for alternate places to hold events. McKillop needed easy access to high-ways, ample free parking, a single level

Economy, continued from page 1

Continued on page 5


facility with efficient move in and move out capabilities, high ceilings and a central location in his geograph-ic target area.

“I approached my network of contacts in the area and learned of a transition in the landscape of Hamil-ton, similar to the transformation that occurred in Pittsburgh. The Hamil-ton steel industry was changing as the mills were being sold off, leaving a few buildings looking for new uses,” he told me. “Careport’s location, just off a major highway at the top of an exit ramp, combined with six acres of park-ing, made it a desirable show center.”

McKillop’s business model brings shows to the people instead of people to the shows. “We needed to have strong relationships in place and share our vision for helping drive business to the city of Hamilton.” He was fortunate to garner support for his idea from several strong community leaders, show producers in the area, media, the city’s Economic Develop-ment Team, Tourism Hamilton, Mc-Master University and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. “The City of Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for making this idea a reality,” said McK-illop. Once those relationships were in place he proposed an alternative use for the warehouse at the corner of Ab-erdeen and Longwood in Hamilton. “The city loved the positive business impact of improving the steel industry through diversification and creating an economic success story in the area. Show producers in Ontario were ap-preciative because it created a much needed, very affordable suburban facil-ity to serve as a proper consumer show center”, said McKillop.

The facility is scheduled to open in February with the Hamilton RV Show, followed by Continuum’s own Ideal Home and Garden Show presented by RE/MAX in March. McKillop had intended to put his money where his mouth is and produce the first show in the building. However, as the idea spread, there was a flurry of requests to tour the building, resulting in nine events now confirmed and booked for

2010. In the past few weeks, many other show producers have requested dates as they hustle to bring events to the outskirts of North America’s third largest market!

McKillop believes that consumer-friendly show facilities are the key to success in this day and age. In addi-tion to the Careport Centre’s easy highway access and free parking, it’s a one-level building with 30 foot ceil-ings throughout, 14 loading docks and two drive-in doors, one of which is 20 feet wide to handle oversized items. McKillop’s sponsorship expertise has helped secure facility sponsors who will keep the rates down for exhibitors. Best of all, he assured me that show visitors won’t be paying $8 for a bagel and coffee! It’s about creating afford-able experiences for visitors, a message McKillop has championed throughout his show career.

A real boon to cost containment for show producers is the fact that when shows are not taking place in the building, it will remain a functioning warehouse. That means that rental is about a tenth of what it costs in a downtown facility. This is especially important for new shows, which are in the launch period and need to watch expenditures extremely closely.

McKillop advocates working with other suburban facilities to drive busi-ness for the local economy. “We have provided several leads to the Hamilton Convention Centre to bring confer-ences and trade events to the city and will continue to work with city offi-cials and Tourism Hamilton to act as ambassadors for prospective events in the area,” said McKillop.

During his research, McKillop discovered that many of the success-ful facilities in North America started out as warehouses, old retail stores or even airplane hangars. His facility is no different. Throughout our conver-sation he stressed that the Careport Centre was not looking to compete with any of the downtown Toronto fa-cilities, which serve a distinct market and have a much different offering. For example, the Toronto region has several well established home shows that have definitely not saturated the

market. McKillop notes with pride that “the proof is in the pudding since we have sold 40 percent of our home show exhibit space in the first 60 days of selling and have landed a significant corporate sponsorship from Honeywell

Economy, continued from page 4

Continued on page 6


NACS thanks our supporters for their generosity and urges membersto demonstrate their appreciation by returning our sponsors’ support.

Sponsors

Platinum• Denver Merchandise Mart

• Hampton Convention & Visitors Bureau

• PC/Nametag

• Portland Expo Center

• Wildwoods Convention Center

Gold• Adstrategies, Inc.

• Shoff Darby Companies

Convention• SMG Convention Centers

Canada, RE/MAX, and Homestars.com.”

McKillop’s idea is so exciting that other shows in Toronto have thrown their support behind Continuum. Canada Blooms, the country’s oldest and largest flower and landscape show, has a huge market in the suburbs and has signed on to present the Home Show’s Feature Gardens. In today’s economy, shows working with shows make as much sense as facilities work-ing in partnership with events.

“We liked this partnership idea from the start because it allows our event to reach out to more than eight million people around the Golden Horseshoe,” said Gerry Ginsberg, General Manager of Canada Blooms. “We have a well-known home and gar-den show producer that has one of the most exciting events to hit the market in recent memory and we want to be a part of it. With the Canada Blooms Festival less than two weeks after the Ideal Home & Garden Show, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to form this partnership in a way that both shows would benefit,” he said.

McKillop is nothing if not confi-dent and that’s perhaps his greatest as-set. He looks at the current economy as a glass half full and refuses to let the naysayers get him down. The building is not even open and he is well in to branding it with sponsorship opportu-nities well into next year and beyond. We are going to hear a lot more about Continuum Productions and the Care-port Centre in the years to come. Stay tuned.

For further information on the Careport Centre, go to www.contin-uumevents.ca. If you wish to discuss Dwayne McKillop’s facility model, contact him at 877.313.SHOW (7469), extension 317, or [email protected].

Karl Eichner is President of Eich-ner & Associates, a Canada-based com-munications/media consultancy spe-cializing in consumer and trade show promotion. He can be contacted at 705.778.2212 or e-mail: [email protected].

sometimes called public liability and the general purpose is to pro-tect the public coming to the venue to attend your show. Since all show producers need general liability in-surance and in a continued effort to provide NACS members with ben-efits we have implemented a new and improved insurance program for NACS members.

The revamped program of-fers rate restructuring which is saving members premium dollars. Increased liability limits have a re-vised rate structure and a major rate reduction. The program is designed on a per show basis with each show producer obtaining coverage for their specific shows. The insurance carrier has also announced the abil-ity to provide individual package policies to those show producers needing a more annualized program and you will still receive the NACS discounted rates. Whether you have 1 show or 100 we can custom-ize a discounted insurance program to meet your needs. Every effort has been made to have the coverage’s you need to satisfy your venue, ven-dor and sponsorship contracts at a discounted price point.

We want to help you help your exhibitors fulfill the liability insur-ance obligations that you have in

your exhibitor contract. Part of a good quality show producer-to-ex-hibitor contract is limiting your li-ability and having the exhibitor ac-cept their liability exposure while at your show and on the venue prem-ises. You do not want to be respon-sible for bodily injury to the exhibi-tor or his staff or volunteers. You do not want to be responsible for their merchandise suffering breakage, theft or disappearance. Addressing these issues in your contract clearly defines the liability your exhibitor is accepting. While most of your exhibitors have annual insurance programs that extend to their ex-hibit we constantly run into those that need coverage. If you insure your show in the NACS program it enables your exhibitors to have the availability to purchase liabil-ity coverage for their exposure at your event with a discount of over 50% compared to other available programs. We have several NACS members that have found offering the discounted exhibitor program was very helpful to extending good will towards their exhibitors.

The new NACS program just started but the NACS members currently involved have been very happy at the significant discounts they are receiving. I urge all mem-bers to take a new look at the NACS Liability insurance program.

Economy, continued from page 5Insurance, continued from page 1

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2010 NACS Convention: Providence, RIJohn McGinn, Convention Co-Chair

I hope your seasons are going well. Providence is very much looking for-ward to hosting the 2010 NACS An-nual Meeting in June. A la David Let-terman, here are the top ten reasons why you should look forward to the upcoming meeting in Providence…

1. You can get here from there. With easy access from Route 95, high-speed train service, an award-winning airport and a waterfront location, Providence is easily accessible by car, plane, train and boat.

2. We’ve got flavor. Providence is home to Johnson & Wales Univer-sity, the world’s largest culinary educa-tor and plenty of those graduates stick around. Among foodies, Providence is known as a red-hot destination and has been featured in magazines such as Food & Wine and Bon Appetit.

3. This town’s on fire. During the warm weather months, tens of thousands of people converge on Wa-terFire. This series of bonfires installed on the three rivers of downtown Provi-dence entices with aromatic wood smoke, flickering firelight and enchant-

ing music. National Geographic Trav-eler named it one of the 20 “must see” events in the U.S.

4. We walk the walk. Provi-dence’s safe and compact downtown area makes it an extremely walkable city. Great restaurants, elegant hotels, stellar shopping, a vibrant nightlife, and plenty of family fun are all within blocks of each other.

5. It’s a smart choice. Providence is home to seven colleges and universi-ties, including Brown University, Prov-idence College and the Rhode Island School of Design.

6. You’re probably almost here al-ready. About 25 percent of the popu-lation of the United States lives within 500 miles of Providence.

7. We make history. Providence is more than 370 years old, with scores of immaculately preserved and archi-tecturally significant buildings. The first Baptist church in the United States is located in Providence, as is the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington that is featured on the one dollar bill.

8. We appreciate the arts. Home

to the famous Rhode Island School of Design and a staunch supporter of the arts, the City of Providence has be-come a haven for artists and entertain-ers. With the largest number of work-ing artists in the country, Providence boasts an eclectic mix of galleries, the-aters and museums.

9. We make headlines. Provi-dence was named one of the “Top Ten Emerging Travel Destinations in the World” by the Wall St. Journal, the only U.S. city to make the list. We are also one of Travel + Leisure’s “Amer-ica’s Favorite Cities,” earning high marks for our restaurants, art scene and airport.

10. We don’t mind if you leave – as long as you come back. Cen-trally located, Providence is the perfect launching pad for a day trip. Entertain-ment opportunities, cultural events, scenic beauty, rich history and legend-ary beaches can be found throughout Rhode Island, nearby Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

I look forward to seeing you in June.

National Association of Consumer Shows

��Annual ConventionProvidence� Rhode IslandJune �� Visit www�publicshows�com for more information and to register


The article below, “Feds to 60 Million American Anglers: We Don’t Need You”, which ran in October reflects how the legislative process can negatively impact our production of consumer shows. As producers of fishing shows we have turned this into an opportunity to engage our exhibitors and attendees in a completely new way.

Will Your Show be Affected? Ours Is.Kristie Gonsalves, North East Expos, Inc.

The state governments in Connecticut and New York have imposed such significant restrictions on fishing that many of businesses are closing and therefore making it almost impossible to sell space in our fishing show. We have actually helped form a collaborative work group amongst tackle shops in Connecticut, along with our Coalition of Sportsmen, to fight the fishing legislation in Connecticut to try and keep some of the retailers in business. Our success is dependent on their success, so we are hoping to have our show be a destination for Connecticut Fishermen to voice their opinion about the regulations.

All show producers should understand how legislation will affect the livelihood of our exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees and be proactive in working with them to develop solutions.

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Launch An Exhibitor-Only Social Network

If getting the majority of your ex-hibitors to participate in an exhibitor training session is a Herculean effort, try giving them their own social net-work instead. IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries, did just that for its IPC APEX Expo and IPC Midwest shows. Branded for each event, the sites are chock full of important information, like exhibi-tor training Webinars, ROI toolkits, money-saving tips, checklists, dead-line reminders, documents and forms, service offers and other special deals, and hotel and travel details.

Exhibitors can visit the network at their convenience to read blog posts, get quick answers to questions, find out when an important deadline is coming up or connect with other exhibitors to troubleshoot common problems. Like mainstream social me-dia sites, IPC’s social networks show users who’s online including their pho-tos (so people can easily put faces with names) and lists recent activity on the sites. Created through Groupsite.com, the networks are user-friendly and in-tuitive. “We wanted a more exclusive way to communicate with exhibitors that wasn’t just marketing speak,” says Sarah Martino, Exhibit Operations Manager at IPC. “Now, we’re commu-nicating with them on another level.” Martino says the networks were origi-nally launched six months prior to the events and are cleaned up before the next show cycle starts.

To begin, Martino first invites the main booth contacts to join the network, and later invites additional booth staff. Exhibitors can also send a link to other staff members to join at any time. Martino serves as the dedicated staff member who main-tains the networks, periodically add-ing new content including blog posts, discussions, photos, important dates/ reminders and links, which she says typically only consumes about 20 min-utes a day.

Reprinted with permission from EXPO Insights, November 5, 2009.

Portland’s Oregon Convention Center to Install Solar Panels

Portland’s Oregon Conven-tion Center has selected SunE-dison to build and install a 1.184-megawatt solar power system on the center’s rooftop. When com-pleted next spring, the panels will generate 12 percent of the power needed to run the building. Com-bined with the facility’s ongoing purchase of wind power, more than half of the OCC’s total en-ergy needs will come from renew-able sources. The center, which has LEED Silver certification, of-fers 255,000 square feet of exhibit space and 50 meeting rooms.

Nashville Uses Eminent Domain to Gain Convention Center Land

The Tennessean reported that Nashville’s Metro Development and Housing Agency has filed suit in county circuit court to ac-quire by eminent domain certain properties needed for the new, 1.2 million-square-foot, $600 million convention center. Seven prop-erty owners are named in the suit. The MDHA’s development direc-tor said his agency would contin-ue to negotiate with the property owners even though eminent do-main proceedings had begun.

Illinois Convention Center Expansion Breaks Ground

Construction began on a $32 million expansion to the Sharon-ville (Ill.) Convention Center, north of Cincinnati. The facil-ity, which currently offers 27,000 square feet of meeting space, will be expanded by 63,000 square feet and will include a 20,330-square-foot exhibit hall, 23,200 square feet of meeting space, an 11,000-square-foot ballroom and an out-door veranda. The addition will seek LEED Silver certification and should be completed in 2011.

Raleigh Convention Center Achieves Silver LEED Certification

The year-old Raleigh Con-vention Center has received Sil-ver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, joining just six other U.S. con-vention centers that have reached that level of environmental sus-tainability. Originally, the RCC sought only basic LEED certifi-cation. The center has 150,000 square feet of exhibit space and 20 meeting rooms.

Facility News

Something to Consider . . .

NBA Launches Ad Campaign Aimed at Hispanic Market

The NBA launched a season-long, $7 million to $10 million ad cam-paign aimed at the growing Hispanic market, which accounts for 15% of its total U.S. fan base of 120 million. The campaign includes TV, a Span-ish-language website, social networking sites and grassroots events, like renovating basketball courts in Hispanic neighborhoods.

Source: AD AGE | 10.19.09.

2 6 0 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e f e e t

inc luding 7,000-seat Oceanfront Arena

did we forget to mention the 5 miles of powdery white beaches?

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75,000 square feet of meeting space, 23,440 square feet of lobby/pre-function space, an 11,700 square

foot ballroom and the 7,000-seat Oceanfront Arena. Outside, there’s plenty of great restaurants, themed

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The Wildwoods Convention Center just might be the easiest business decision you’ll ever have to make.

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WCC10349 Convention_NACS.indd 1 7/14/08 1:44:01 PM

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Have you ever wondered why you can only download a live version of a song on iTunes? Why The Beatles’ songs aren’t available? Why you can’t buy the popular TV show, The Wonder Years, on DVD? Or why Michael Jackson’s estate will remain embroiled in legal drama for years to come?

The answer for each is the same -- music licensing issues. Almost all music is owned and licensed by someone, and access to it comes with a price. Even a song you’ve heard all your life and sung countless times -- Happy Birthday -- is someone’s property. And it will be until the year 2030.

So, does that mean you have to pay the owner of Happy Birthday every time you sing it? Of course not -- as long as you don’t sing it where “a substantial number of persons outside of a normal family and its social acquaintances are gathered,” don’t rebroadcast it and don’t sing it for either direct or indirect profit.

Still, this example demonstrates an important point. More than likely, any music you’re familiar with -- or even unfamiliar with -- belongs to someone. To play or perform this music, you must pay this legal owner the vast majority of the times.

What about music by Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi or some other long-dead composer? Surely, you don’t have to pay a fee for that -- it must be “public domain,” right? Wrong.

You can’t assume classical music is automatically in the public domain. If a composer or arranger revises and re-records it, the new version has a new copyright. The only way to know whether a piece of music is in the public domain is to check with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC to see if any of them holds the license, since these three perform-ing rights organizations represent 95 percent of the songs ever written, in-cluding foreign songs.

If someone plans to publicly per-form -- either live or recorded music -- at meetings, conventions, tradeshows, seminars, conferences, etc. for your or-ganization, always check with ASCAP,

BMI and SESAC to see which one holds the license to a piece of music. Then, you pay the licensing fee. Thankfully, each of these agencies maintains a list of the music it licenses on its Web site, so searching can be quick and simple.

If you use background music for a presentation, and you plan to post the presentation on your Web site, you also need an Internet license from one of the three licensing agencies. If you want to put it on a CD, too, you need a me-chanical rights license from a company called the Harry Fox Agency.

Wondering what types of estab-lishments need licenses? It’s not just convention halls, nightclubs and huge arenas. Here are just a few examples of the establishments covered in the forms section of the BMI Web site.

Why can’t someone else take care of getting all these licenses for you, maybe the hotel, convention center, band or exhibitors? Because they’re not considered to be the “end users.” You are, and the end user is responsible for obtaining the license. Sometimes, you can shift this responsibility to a third party, like a hotel, convention center or management company, but beware: You still remain liable for copyright infringe-ment if you use music or people perform it at your event without a license.

Proceed with cautionRight about now, you may think,

“Screw it. I’ll just play what I want. No one will find out. And if people do, what will they do about it?” You’d be surprised.

As CD sales have plummeted in recent years and the number of illegal sites for downloading music has grown, many musical artists are looking for any and all avenues for revenue. Your event presents a very inviting target since or-ganizers are not always informed about the risks and obligations involved.

All three licensing agencies pro-tect their legal rights proactively. They monitor facility organizations to find out which groups they book where and when. They do random checks of hotels, convention centers, etc. They also check organizations’ Web sites for

information about meetings and con-ventions. Get caught without a proper license, and your prize is a nice, big law-suit.

Lose a copyright infringement case, and your organization may have to pay not only damages, but the court costs and attorney fees incurred by the pre-vailing party, as well -- damages that can range from $500 per song to as much as $100,000 in cases of willful in-fringement (as when the organization ignores a warning letter from a licens-ing agent).

And the licensing agencies rarely lose, because when you play their mu-sic without a license, you’re committing copyright infringement, also known as piracy, and that’s against the law. Think of licensing like paying income tax. If you cheat, you may not get caught. But if you do, you’re in trouble.

Are there any exemptions from the license requirement? The only way you don’t need a license is if you meet all four of the following conditions:

1. The music isn’t received beyond the place from which people perform it. For example, it isn’t a broadcast or transmission.

2. The performance does not pro-vide any direct or indirect commercial advantage to the organization.

3. The performers, promoters or or-ganizers don’t receive any fee or other compensation for the performance.

4. There is no direct or indirect admission charge. (You may charge an admission fee only if the proceeds go exclusively for religious or charitable purposes or for use exclusively by an educational institution for educational purposes. You can deduct the reason-able costs of producing the performanc-es from the proceeds.) Establishments that need licenses:• Airports.• Amusement/theme parks.• Athletic clubs/dance classes.• Bowling centers.• Colleges and universities.• Competitions/shows.

Know the rules of the game before you push play

Music Licensing at EventsJohn Foster, Esq., CHME

Continued on page 15


• Eating and drinking establishments.• Festivals/special events.• Hotels/motels.• Local governmental entities.• Local television.• Meetings, conventions, tradeshows

and expositions.• Musical attractions -- promoters/pre-

senters.• Radio stations.• Retail establishments.• RV parks and campgrounds (mul-

tiple use).• Shopping centers.• Skating rinks.• Symphonies or orchestras.• Web sites. Determining fees

You can obtain a license to use copyrighted music on an annual basis from the three performing rights organi-zations. If you have four meetings or less in a year, you must fill out a reporting form within 30 days of the event and send in the fee. If you have five or more

events in a year, you can file reporting forms quarterly and pay the fee.

The total fee depends on whether the music you use at your event is “me-chanical” (meaning recorded), “live” with performers present or a combina-tion of the two.

• Recorded music: The fee for me-chanical music is $.072 times the num-ber of attendees per event. (In this case, “attendees” means all registered attend-ees plus one-half of exhibitor person-nel.)

• Live music: Fees for live music in the exhibit hall are determined in the same manner as recorded music, but fees for live music played outside the exhibit hall are based on the number of people registered to attend each par-ticular function. The fee for live music is calculated daily.

• Minimum/maximum fees: The minimum fee for an event where copy-righted music is played or performed is $80, and the maximum fee is $6,450 per event. These fees are adjusted annually according to the change in the Con-

sumer Price Index. If a number of differ-ent artists will play a variety of music, you’ll likely need a license from each of the performing rights organizations.

Of course, if you have an event without playing or performing copy-righted music, you don’t owe anyone a music licensing fee. And, you can also provide music at a reduced cost or with-out licensing -- if you’re willing to limit your selection significantly.

Stock and public domain musicSome organizations, called stock

music companies, produce and house thousands of traditional and contempo-rary tunes. These companies hire their own composers, producers, singers, mu-sicians and technical staff to produce the songs. Their repertoires include everything from jazz and symphonic to rock and pop. Each library retains the copyright on its own music and licenses its use. You can license their music for a small, one-time fee and use the music forever.

Or you can use only music from the public domain. Music goes into the pub-lic domain after the copyright expires. Copyrights in a musical work created after January 1, 1978 last for the life of the composer plus 70 years. For music owned by corporations, the copyrights last either 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever comes first. For music written pre-1978 that’s still in its original or renewal copyright term, the total term is 95 years from the original copyright date. But again, remember just because “the music” is in the public domain, that doesn’t mean every ver-sion is. So, tread carefully.

Whatever choice you make, keep in mind licenses are cheaper than lawsuits, and be sure you follow the law. Oth-erwise, you could find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit. And then, you’ll be the one singing the blues.

Reprinted from The Event Organizer’s eJournal, October 21, 2009

John Foster, Esq., CHME, is an at-torney and counsel with Foster, Jensen & Gulley, LLC, which specializes in the legal aspects of meetings, conventions, tradeshows, events and association man-agement. You can contact him at [email protected].

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Licensing continued from page 14

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