About SoniQR The music Spots Netlabels Legal FAQ

In most countries on earth, store owners are bond to laws that usually force them to do two things. First of all, as soon as you play music in public that is registered somewhere by the artist or publisher, you have to pay for playing their songs in public. And second, as soon as you have some kind of audio-transmission device in your store, you also have to pay for that.

SoniQR can not save you from the latter, but this project tries to help you to avoid the fees or fine for the first, by simply only offering independent netlabel music, that we curate and ask the artist or netlabel to be used for, even if the title is published under a "Creative Commons - non commercial license".

Absolutely not. The whole music offered through SoniQR is published under a "creative commons license" (CC). There are a couple of CC-license types, but all of them allow you to download the music files and share them with friends and family for as many times you like. You are only forbidden to re-sell the music files, or in some cases it is forbidden to use the music in a commercial way.
That is why SoniQR only offers a curated list of music, as we contact the netlabel or the musician and ask them to use their music for the SoniQR project.

Not from our side, nor from the netlabels. You are allowed to offer SoniQR on as many devices as you want, and there is no restrictions on the amount of downloads per day, week or month.

It's also out of matter how big your location is and how many people visit your store per day. SoniQR has no restrictions on anything related to your commerce and how you do it or how you use SoniQR to offer the music in your store.

So what is all the legal fuss about? The main problem are the organisations controlling the music licenses in your country. As example the GEMA in Germany, the PPLPRS in the United Kingdom or the BMI in the united states.
Every western country has some kind of music license regulation bureau.

What happens is that they - literally - send someone over to your store and that person will enforce you to sign a contract with them for playing music in public. Explaining to them that the music that you play is published under "Creative Commons" and not licensed by any of their contract partners is a PITA, simply because in 99% of the cases they will - with a grin on their face - tell you that this is bullshit, nonesense and illegal and that you are breaking the law.

DON'T SIGN ANYTHING !

Below are several explanatory texts that you can print out and have in hand when the above situation happens or that you can print out to hand them out to your clients in case of interest.

If you know of any details that could be added in here, please send your knowledge or ideas to carlos@soniqr.com so that the text can be adapted.

PPLPRS England
BMI United States

Dear valued patrons, esteemed authorities and police, We're thrilled to share that the music played through the SoniQR website in our cozy retail store is published under a Creative Commons license. As responsible proprietors, we believe in transparency and compliance. Allow us to clarify our music policy:

Creative Commons Licensed Music
The delightful tunes resonating within our walls are sourced from artists who generously share their work under Creative Commons licenses. These licenses empower creators while allowing free and open use of their art in specific contexts.

Artist or Netlabel publishing
The music you hear in our space is either published under a so called netlabel or by the musician himself/herself without any other music label licenses inbetween.

Playlist
All music used within the SoniQR project can openly be seen at http://www.soniqr.com/music, there is no pre-defined playlist or a music list created individually per store as the machine randomly picks a song. This means that if asked for it, SoniQR will send you a full list containing hundreds of music titles, artists and its proper CC license via e-mail.

Further information
For details about the Creative Commons license or why artist prefer to publish under a netlabel instead of a major one, we encourage you to visit the legal section of the http://www.soniqr.com website or directly go to http://www.creativecommons.org

So, next time you sway to the melodies, know that you're part of a community that celebrates openness, creativity, and good vibes. Feel free to verify our commitment to compliance. The rhythm flows, unshackled by bureaucracy.
Thank you for choosing our store. Let the music play, and may your days be filled with rhythm and joy!
With gratitude,
The Management

GEMA England

Lieber Besucher, geschätzte Behörden und Polizei,
Wir freuen uns, Ihnen mitteilen zu können, dass die Musik über die SoniQR-Website in unseren schicken Räumlichkeiten unter einer Creative Commons-Lizenz abgespielt wird. Als verantwortungsbewusste Eigentümer glauben wir an Transparenz und Einhaltung von Regeln. Erlauben Sie uns daher, ihnen unsere Musikrichtlinien klarzustellen:

Creative Commons-lizenzierte Musik
Die herrlichen Melodien, die in unseren Wänden erklingen, stammen von Künstlern die ihre Arbeit großzügig unter der Creative-Commons-Lizenzen veröffentlichen. Diese Lizenzen stärken die Urheber und ermöglichen gleichzeitig die kostenlose und offene Nutzung ihrer Kunst in spezifischen Kontexten.

Künstler- oder Netlabel-Veröffentlichung
Die Musik, die Sie bei uns hören, wird entweder unter einem sogenannten Netlabel oder direkt vom Musiker veröffentlicht, ohne dazwischenliegende Lizenzen eines weiteren Musiklabels.

Wiedergabeliste
Die gesamte im SoniQR-Projekt verwendete Musik kann öffentlich unter http://www.soniqr.com/music eingesehen werden. Es gibt keine vordefinierte Playlist oder eine individuell pro Geschäft erstellte Musikliste. Der Computer wählt zufällig ein Lied aus, was bedeutet, dass SoniQR Ihnen auf Anfrage gerne eine vollständige Liste mit Hunderten von Musiktiteln, Künstlern und der entsprechenden CC-Lizenz per E-Mail zukommen lässt.

Weitere Informationen
Für weitere Informationen zur Creative-Commons-Lizenz oder warum Künstler es vorziehen, ihre Arbeit unter einem Netlabel zu veröffentlichen anstelle eines größeren Musik-Verlages, empfehlen wir Ihnen, den Rechtsbereich von http://www.soniqr.com zu besuchen oder direkt auf die Website des http://www.creativecommons.org Projektes zu gehen.

Wenn Sie also das nächste Mal von den Melodien bei uns schwärmen, seien Sie sich darüber im Klaren, dass Sie Teil einer Gemeinschaft sind, die Offenheit, Kreativität und positive Vibes zelebriert. Überzeugen Sie sich selbst von unserem Engagement für die Einhaltung der selbigen denn: Der Rhythmus fließt, losgelöst von der Bürokratie.
Vielen Dank, dass Sie sich für unseren Shop entschieden haben. Lassen Sie die Musik auf sich einwirken und mögen Ihre Tage voller Rhythmus und Freude sein!
Mit Dankbarkeit,
Das Management

SGAE España

Estimado cliente, estimadas autoridades y policías,
Estamos encantados de compartir que la música que esta escuchando en nuestra acogedora tienda minorista se reprodujo a través del sitio web SoniQR y que está publicado bajo una licencia Creative Commons. Como propietarios responsables, creemos en la transparencia y el cumplimiento. Así que permítanos aclarar nuestra política musical:

Música con licencia Creative Commons
Las deliciosas melodías que resuenan dentro de nuestras paredes provienen de artistas quienes generosamente comparten su trabajo bajo licencias Creative Commons. Estas licencias empoderan a los creadores al tiempo que permiten el uso gratuito y abierto de sus arte en contextos específicos.

Artista o editorial Netlabel
La música que escucha en nuestro espacio se publica bajo el un llamado netlabel o por el propio músico sin ninguna otra licencia de editora musical intermedia.

Lista de reproducción
Toda la música utilizada dentro del proyecto SoniQR se puede ver abiertamente en http://www.soniqr.com/music y no hay una lista de reproducción predefinida ni una lista de música creada individualmente por esta tienda ya que es el ordenador cual elige una canción al azar. Esto significa que si lo solicita, SoniQR le enviará un lista completa que contiene cientos de títulos musicales, artistas y su licencia CC adecuada por correo electrónico.

Más información
Para obtener detalles sobre la licencia Creative Commons o por qué el artista prefiere publicar bajo un netlabel en lugar de una editora grande, le recomendamos que visite la sección legal de http://www.soniqr.com o vaya directamente a http://www.creativecommons.org para conocer la licencia de Creative Commons.

Entonces, la próxima vez que escuche las melodías, debe saber que usted es parte de una comunidad que celebra la apertura, creatividad y buen rollo. No dude en verificar nuestro compromiso de cumplimiento. El ritmo fluye, libre de la burocracia.
Gracias por elegir nuestra tienda. ¡Deje que suene la música y que sus días se llenen de ritmo y alegría!
Con gratitud,
La gestión

SoniQR
Carlos Pinto
Av. Francisco Vega Monroy 11, P1C
35109 El Tablero
Gran Canaria

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