Karaoke Forums

I'm thinking of getting a CAVS JB-199 for lots of reasons.  However I would NEVER use it to play music I didn't have the rights to.  In other words I would only play the music that I own and downloaded into the unit myself.  I COMPLETELY agree with the 1:1 ratio of burned music to owned music.  My question is whether or not I will be able to use my Sound Choice music in this machine.  Any experience out there with this?

Depends on who you listen too... it's like jaywalking... illegal but is it prosecutable?

SC has vehemently stated that they are against the jb cavs machines... and us computer show guys. BUT they also are no longer going after those of us that do the 1-1 ratio... they've gone to court, and had their butt kicked by all kinds of state, fed, and local regs...

SC will NOT help you to load them... but I know many people that are!

Up to you... do you jaywalk? Or not??

I don't see how it is illegal.  All you're doing is using a copy of your own music, while your originals stay locked up safe where no one else can use them.

Anyway, I've read MANY threads on this topic before and I don't want this to turn into another one.  I just want to make sure that if I get one of the JB-199 units, that I will be able to use it to play all the Sound Choice media that I WILL be buying.

Matt already answered your question.. it IS illegal... Soundchoice PUBLICLY does not approve or endorse it... are you gonna be sued or have KAPA show up on your doorstep??? (OH NO NOT KAPA!!!!! RUNNNNNNNNNNNN.... worthless POS...) no you aren't... can you justify piracy with a 1:1 ratio? sure can, just did...- tig

they aren't even going after the illegal multi-rig guys who buy 1 disk (if they buy it at all) and make 7 copies to put in their 7 systems the only thing they have done is alienate their customer base (KJ's) by insisting that everyone does what THEY say we can do with what WE buy.  They spent so much time and energy fighting their own customer base on digital conversion, formats, worthless copy protection and trying to maintain their thumb on the industry that the REAL pirates and thieves moved into just about every market with no resistance... thanks, Soundchoice, for all that you didn't do...

Remember, you're dealing with 2 different things here.  Compulsory licensing allows you to play purchased music in a public venue if licensing is paid to ASCAP/BMI/SESAC.  For personal use you're permitted to format shift per the Audio Recording Act of 1992 which is really an extension of the fair use statute in Section 8 of United States Code Title 17.

The problem is this.  Commercial use doesn't apply under fair use (with a few limitations which I won't address) - only personal use.  To format shift for commercial purposes you need to procure a 'mechanical reproduction license' which can be purchased from the Harry Fox Agency.  My understanding is that mechanical reproduction rights are required any time you format shift for commercial purposes.  Which means that if you're a DJ and rip your cd collection to mp3's you are supposed to acquire mechanical licensing rights to be 100% legal.

I recently had a run in with eMusic regarding playing the tracks purchased from them in a club setting.  Keep in mind that these are bought at MP3 tracks and not as discs.  When I inquired regarding the legality of this use I was told that they couldn't permit use of the tracks for ANY commercial purpose.  When I tried to explain that I was only wanting to use the tracks for public performance they stuck to their guns and told me to contact each label for permission to play in a club.  I instead blew them off and wrote an email to ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC requesting information on licensing for use MP3's in a club setting.  ASCAP was the only one to respond so far and they said any legally purchased MP3 can be played in a club as long as fees are paid.  When I forwarded this information to eMusic they told me to go by what ASCAP said.  This is known as compulsory licensing when the singer/songwriter dont have to provide permission for public performance of the track and are paid from the licensing fees from the venue.  Compulsory licensing can apply in other ways as well, but this is one of the more common forms of its use.

While I'm sure this probably confused the hell out of you - it did me for a while - it's what I've experienced over the last couple years in trying to wade through the legal quagmire of copyright law and licensing.

So, format shifting is permissable with a mechanical reproduction rights license from Harry Fox.  However, when I called Sound Choice and asked about ripping to MP3 they told me that as long as I could prove ownership of all the tracks I owned they wouldn't prosecute.  Mechanical reproduction rights was never brought up.

If you really want a definitive answer I recommend you seek legal counsel experienced in copyright, intellectual property, and licensing laws and the decisions of the courts as they apply to commercial entities.

BTW, I am not a lawyer, and the above is not meant to be construed as legal advice.  It's just my experiences and understanding based on reading, asking questions, and listening to those that know far more than I do.

I have been using the CAVS JB-99 system for almost 2 years now, and in that time I have seen many local KJ's convert to them. I keep it as if was delivered. You will find it is not that easy to upload new discs, and I find myself still carrying a CD case with new music that I have not had the time to upload.

You may want to look at other hoster programs, as I think thats the way I would go if I started over......

_________________
Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

I should mention that the only reason I'd go with CAVS is because of the foreign libraries available that can be bought in one fell swoop.  I know we get a lot of Japanese tourist who might like to sing but I don't know the songs well enough to know what to buy.  I've seen a CAVS licenses set of songs for $700 but they're only availalbe on CAVS.  Someting I'd likely purchase if I was going that way.

I also don't know if I'd upload everything I already have but I'd consider it if it wasn't too time consuming and it wouldn't cost more than going the computer based route.