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Mainstream Music Banned From Los Cabos Restaurants And Bars Unless They Pay Royalties

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Los Cabos resorts, and the entertainment facilities that they house could see their music playlists limited if they are unwilling to pay a monthly royalty fee to play certain music. This legislation could potentially apply to all of the music that is used in the resort. It would include elevator music, all the way to the music that can be played at particular nightlife establishments that are associated with well known Cabo resorts. 

DJ At Beach Club

What Type of Music Could Potentially Be Banned From Resorts & Their Facilities?

The organization that is pushing this effort to force resorts to pay royalty fees is the Association of Authors and Music Composers of Mexico. That does not mean that only Spanish or Mexican music is safeguarded by this organization. Essentially this organization is the one in charge of making sure that the rights of music authors who own content are respected in the country. 

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Mario Soto, the representative of this organization, mentioned that the interests of both national and international authors were protected by them. The rights of over 27 thousand authors are represented by this organization in Mexico. Resorts that decide not to pay the royalty fees will be limited to playing only royalty free music at their facilities. Mario Soto had this to say on the matter, 

Justin Timberlake is one of the authors whose music is protected

“They (resorts) use throughout their facilities music of all genres, national and international. They play previously recorded music, live music, background music, concerts, however you want to look at it. All that music that I’m talking about, singers, and writers of the material deserve to get paid for the usage.” 

Show In Cabo Nightlife

Soto would go on to say that it’s the job of the Authors and Composers organization to strike deals with these resorts in order for them to be legally allowed to play this music. Naturally, these deals would require a payment on the part of the resort. The next time that you ask a DJ at a Cabo club to play a particular song he or she may not be able to legally play it at the club because the facility hasn’t paid the required royalty fees.

DJ mixing at party

Parts of Resorts Can Be Closed Down For Copyright Infringements      

Royalties on music has always been a contentious topic, particularly because policing copyright infringements of this type has become increasingly difficult. However, there is a very recent precedent in which a resort in Puerto Vallarta Mexico had its entertainment facilities closed down due to the fact that they were playing music that they hadn’t paid the rights to. The Authors and Composers Organization has received support from other organizations to be able to carry out these inspections. 

Inspection by marine officers

As things stand the organization mentioned that there are 8 resorts in Los Cabos that have not paid their respective royalty fees. They could be facing the closure of certain facilities if they continue to play the music without effectively making their payment to the organization. These payments can go from as low as around 25 dollars to almost 5 thousand dollars a month for the rights to the music. The price difference has to do with the number of facilities that each resort features in which they potentially would like to play the music. 

Beach Wedding

The authors and composers organization did not make it clear how these restrictions on non-paying resorts could affect either private events or the type of music that individuals could listen to within the resort itself. If you’re planning on getting married at a Cabo resort it could be a good idea to ask about the type of music that is allowed to be played at those particular facilities. Otherwise, the event would legally only be able to be serenaded by royalty free music.