At Freerolls Sports Bar, we believe that the right music can make all the difference in creating a great atmosphere. Th
As the owner of Freerolls Sports Bar in Chiang Mai, I've seen firsthand the damage that music copyright scammers can do to businesses. These scammers often target small businesses, like bars and restaurants, that are not familiar with the law. They may claim to be able to provide you with a license to play music, but in reality, they are only selling you a fake license.
We love being legal, it was one of the first things we looked at when we went live in 2023. We started looking at several licenses around the world, and we specifcially wanted a system like Soundtrack your brand, where we could implement it into our bar and be 100% sure we only play legally allowed songs. We looked at Thailand companies and fast found out that all were scams, promised you full catalogs to get the sale, and then offered nothing in the way of a list for you to check you was legal.
As you can see in the image above, we have our own main list we play, which then inside that, shows us songs that we are allowed to play or not. This keeps us on the right side of the law 24/7. When the thai music copyright scammers come in, they will not even tell you what music in their catalog they have.
For example, this is a screenshot of just 944 songs which one scammer had in their catalog, but they were claiming we could play unlimited music across anything we desired. On top of it, in Freerolls we never play Thai music, and this is due to the fact that we do not want to impede on the copyright holders intellectual property rights as for the most part, Soundtrack your Brand do not provide any as part of the license. If we wanted to play Thai music we can speak with our Local PRO and get that music paid for and added to our Soundtrack your Brand list.
In addition to being illegal, copyright scams also provide a poor service to their victims. Scammers typically do not provide any means for businesses to monitor their own music usage. They simply throw businesses a vague CSV file with a list of songs that are supposedly covered by the license. This makes it very difficult for businesses to know if they are actually in compliance with the law.
Scammers also often have very limited copyright scope. This means that they may only have the rights to a small number of songs, or they may only have the rights to play those songs in a specific location. This can leave businesses exposed to copyright infringement lawsuits from other organizations that have the rights to the songs that the business is playing.
Finally, copyright scammers often provide very little customer support. This means that businesses that have problems with their licenses are often left on their own to try to resolve the issue. This can be a major headache for businesses, and it can make it difficult to get the music licensing that they need.
PLEASE remember, these copyright scammers do not have ANY technology to actually help you as a business monitor your usage. The ones which claim they do are so limited and stiffling that they require you to do a FIND on a CSV document, or search their barely functioning websites to see if you are allowed to play the songs.
The scammers will often buy a license to play a small catalog of music. They will then use this license to create the illusion that they are a legitimate company. They may also claim to have connections with the copyright holders, or that they can "protect" you from copyright infringement lawsuits.
Once you pay the scammers, they will give you a certificate or other document that looks like a legitimate license. However, this document is worthless. The scammers have no legal right to allow you to play music, and you are still at risk of being sued for copyright infringement.
There are a few things you can do to avoid being scammed by music copyright scammers:
Only deal with legitimate companies. Do your research and make sure that the company you are dealing with is authorized to sell music licenses.
Get everything in writing. Make sure that you have a written contract that clearly states the terms of the license.
Be wary of any company that promises to "protect" you from copyright infringement lawsuits. There is no such thing as a guarantee against copyright infringement.
As you can see, you will often get someone approach, sometimes many times per month. They will give you a business card (No email or identifying information that is real). Then they will proceed to gaslight you about your music. Never asking if you already have a license or not. They come in and assume you're guilty.
With soundtrack your brand, you can never violate copyright, as they do not allow you to play songs that you do not have the legal copyright to play. For example in our bar we take requests from customers via their tables. That then pings a member of staff to see if we have the music available to us with soundtrack your brand, and then we play it.
Latest Scammer Report: 7th September 2023
Today, a representative of an identified company (we won't report there name here for the time being) came to freerolls and handed us a fake document from the police station. We showed them our license with Soundtrack Your Brand, but they only wanted money. They talked about fabricated proof, but when we asked to see it (knowing that it is fake), they said they didn't have any. They then turned around and left the building. It should be noted that the fake police report said they had proof. When we asked for this proof, we was told there was none. Obviously this means that the police reports they are filing at this point are illegal and designed to pressure subjects such as ourselves.
This is the type of issue which is on-going, and we have no doubt that the rep will be back again soon demanding more money for a fabricated situation.
Report the scam to the police.
Contact the copyright holders of the music that you were illegally playing.
Take legal action against the scammers.
They may ask you to pay in cash or by wire transfer. This is because it is harder to track these types of payments.
They may try to rush you into signing a contract. This is because they want to get your money before you have a chance to think about it.
They may make you feel like you have to act now or you will miss out on a great opportunity. This is a common sales tactic used by scammers.
They will create fake police reports and pressure you into signing
They will report you to the police in a manner which is designed to pressure you into buying a license with them
I hope this article has helped to raise awareness of the dangers of music copyright scams in Thailand. If you are a business owner, please be sure to do your research before you buy a music license. By following these tips, you can help to protect yourself from being scammed.
If you are ever unsure about whether or not a company is legitimate, it is always best to err on the side of caution and avoid doing business with them.
