Music Licensing for Car, Horse, Dog, and other Racing Events

Music is used by many businesses, including car, motorcycle, dog, and horse racetracks to keep customers entertained before, during, or after the competition, or in bars or restaurants on the racetrack premises. However, playing music in a public place doesn’t just involve hiring a band or turning on audio or audio/visual equipment. According to the U.S. copyright law, you must first gain permission from the copyright owners of the music you are playing in order to perform their copyrighted music publicly.

After the first contract year and at the same time that you pay your estimated fee, you’ll submit a report (on forms provided by BMI) indicating the actual number of racing days you had in the previous calendar year. Your fee may then be adjusted based on this report.