I am a DJ hobbyist and plan to DJ a small dance party for some of my friends for their fraternity. The party will held in a public space, which we are renting on the college campus. I plan to just DJ from my laptop with Traktor with a bunch of files ranging from dance, hip-hop, and rock music. I do not own a license of any sort and am curious if I need one in order to play. There are no door fees or charges for the dance. Could you guys please inform me as to what are the legal implications here in the USA? Do I have to get a license with ASCAP or the RIAA or something? I would appreciate your responses. Thank you.
Feb-29-2008 04:06
woscar
Starstuff
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Guatemala, Guatemala
Re: Small Dance Party--Do I require a license?
quote:
Originally posted by phantom limb
Hey All,
I am a DJ hobbyist and plan to DJ a small dance party for some of my friends for their fraternity. The party will held in a public space, which we are renting on the college campus. I plan to just DJ from my laptop with Traktor with a bunch of files ranging from dance, hip-hop, and rock music. I do not own a license of any sort and am curious if I need one in order to play. There are no door fees or charges for the dance. Could you guys please inform me as to what are the legal implications here in the USA? Do I have to get a license with ASCAP or the RIAA or something? I would appreciate your responses. Thank you.
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Intergalactic Mimosa Station
license? no. additional pylons? yes.
Feb-29-2008 10:13
TaylorR
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: May 2005
Location:
quote:
Originally posted by inconspicuous
additional pylons? yes.
good thinking!
always ran into that problem
Feb-29-2008 11:16
david.michael
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Dayton, OH, USA
quote:
Originally posted by TaylorR
good thinking!
always ran into that problem
Not me, but I usually played Terran.
Feb-29-2008 15:43
Zoso
Banging Gangs!
Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Dirty South, United States
Damned Terrans with their siege tanks just out of range of your photon cannons!
Feb-29-2008 15:51
david.michael
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Dayton, OH, USA
quote:
Originally posted by Zoso
Damned Terrans with their siege tanks just out of range of your photon cannons!
Yup, that's the way to do it... have a row in front in siege mode, and have a row of tanks move in front of them, take them out of siege mode, move the old line forward, and continue this process until those damned photon cannons were out of the way!
But, I digress...
Feb-29-2008 15:53
Ray_Chappell
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Feb 2007
Location: Dallas, TX
quote:
Originally posted by phantom limb
LOL. Is it really that simple? Jesus, my friends and I were freaking out because we thought we needed a license.
You are taking legal advice on a city ordinance from someone that states they are from/in Guatemala.
There's no one answer for this. Every city has different ordinances and they are the ones that will cause you trouble.
And yes it does matter if you are charging for admission - do you have a sales tax? Then you may need to be paying it. (I know this from experience as a promoter and was forced to get a tax id, register admission, etc. - although it was bigger than a house party).
If the party is truly in the public - like a public park or something - you may run into trouble. It depends on the crowd, the city, etc. though and someone local would be a much better help. Check with a local promoter.
Feb-29-2008 21:45
Dojomaster26
Daft Milk
Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Hickory
quote:
Originally posted by Ray_Chappell
You are taking legal advice on a city ordinance from someone that states they are from/in Guatemala.
There's no one answer for this. Every city has different ordinances and they are the ones that will cause you trouble.
And yes it does matter if you are charging for admission - do you have a sales tax? Then you may need to be paying it. (I know this from experience as a promoter and was forced to get a tax id, register admission, etc. - although it was bigger than a house party).
If the party is truly in the public - like a public park or something - you may run into trouble. It depends on the crowd, the city, etc. though and someone local would be a much better help. Check with a local promoter.
tl;dr : Go to your local city hall and find out what the law is. Its better to know if your area has some crazy "RAVE-act" law before you do this event...
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Feb-29-2008 22:02
phantom limb
Senior tranceaddict
Registered: Jul 2007
Location: Northeast
quote:
Originally posted by Ray_Chappell
You are taking legal advice on a city ordinance from someone that states they are from/in Guatemala.
There's no one answer for this. Every city has different ordinances and they are the ones that will cause you trouble.
And yes it does matter if you are charging for admission - do you have a sales tax? Then you may need to be paying it. (I know this from experience as a promoter and was forced to get a tax id, register admission, etc. - although it was bigger than a house party).
If the party is truly in the public - like a public park or something - you may run into trouble. It depends on the crowd, the city, etc. though and someone local would be a much better help. Check with a local promoter.
Excellent advice. I will pursue it further with the city. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Very thoughtful on your part.
It wouldn't even matter if you were charging people to go to the party or not.
