Public Performance Licensing & Music Compliance Policy
Since 1997, Texas Music Cafe® has operated as a sanctuary for songwriters, a state-of-the-art recording studio, an intimate live listening room, and a historic archive preserving nearly 10,000 hours of live performance media. Because our mission centers on capturing music history in real time and exporting it to the world, we hold music copyright and intellectual property rights in the highest regard.
To ensure total transparency and absolute compliance with U.S. Copyright Law, Texas Music Cafe® adheres to strict public performance, broadcasting, and archival licensing standards.
1. Public Performance Venue Licensing
Texas Music Cafe® maintains active blanket venue licenses with all major Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), including:
- ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)
- BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)
- SESAC
These licenses authorize the public performance of copyrighted musical works within our facility. This ensures that every songwriter, composer, and publisher is legally and properly compensated whenever their music is played on our stage or within our room.
2. Live Tapings, Broadcasts, and Synchronizations
Unlike a standard music venue, Texas Music Cafe® produces multi-track audio and high-definition video recordings of our live showcases for digital distribution, streaming, and television syndication.
- The Composition vs. The Master: By contract, Texas Music Cafe® retains ownership of the physical sound recordings and video masters captured in our facility. However, the underlying musical compositions remain the intellectual property of the respective songwriters and publishers.
- Synchronization Integrity: Our blanket PRO licenses protect the immediate live performance within our room. For all broadcasted and archived media (distributed via YouTube, public television, or syndication), we ensure compliance through explicit synchronization, master release, and performance waivers executed with our performing artists prior to taping.
3. House Music & Ambient Audio
During non-performance hours, educational workshops, or gallery events, Texas Music Cafe® strictly prohibits the use of personal, non-commercial streaming accounts on house speakers. Ambient audio is exclusively populated by:
- Licensed B2B commercial streaming providers.
- Hand-curated tracks from the Texas Music Cafe® archive for which all master and broadcast rights are fully owned and cleared.
4. Performer & Content Clearances
We are dedicated to maintaining a seamless, legally secure environment for our artists and crew.
- All artists booking a showcase or recording session at Texas Music Cafe® must provide accurate setlist metadata, including song titles and co-writer attributions.
- This metadata allows our production and engineering teams to verify catalog data against our PRO registries, ensuring our historic broadcast archive remains free of copyright encumbrances.
Advancing the Legacy
By strictly maintaining our compliance infrastructure with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, Texas Music Cafe® guarantees that our 30-year archive—and the next generation of Texas songwriters—remains legally protected, celebrated, and fairly compensated.
For inquiries regarding music licensing, synchronization rights, or archival permissions, please contact our administrative team at [email protected].