Music can bring so much to the camping experience, whether it’s through fun karaoke sessions or great playlists streamed into your recreation facilities or registration area. But did you know that if you play copyrighted music at your park without a license, you could be held legally liable? This is true whether the music is performed live, by a DJ, on the radio or through CDs, DVDs or cassettes that you own or through streaming or cable services you subscribe to.

Music can bring so much to the camping experience, whether it’s through fun karaoke sessions or great playlists streamed into your recreation facilities or registration area. But did you know that if you play copyrighted music at your park without a license, you could be held legally liable? This is true whether the music is performed live, by a DJ, on the radio or through CDs, DVDs or cassettes that you own or through streaming or cable services you subscribe to.

The reason is that the three major music licensing companies, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, use the licensing fees they collect to pay royalties to the songwriters, publishers or performers they represent. The penalties for playing copyrighted music in a public venue like your park without a license can be steep, with damages that can range from $750 to $30,000. In addition, if a jury finds that the infringement was “willful,” the damages assessed could run as high as $150,000 per song plus legal costs.

You don’t want that to happen to you. That’s why, as an exclusive ARVC member benefit, ARVC offers a combined ASCAP/BMI license at a drastically reduced rate of up to 50 percent off current published rates. To complete your coverage, you can also sign up for a discounted SESAC license offering an average savings of 26 percent. Rates are set on a sliding scale, based on the number of sites, and will remain the same as the 2020 rates.

Open enrollment for the 2021 ARVC Music Licensing Program runs from

August 1 to December 4, 2020.

ARVC offers these specially discounted rates to help make music licensing as affordable as possible and to eliminate any worries about incurring steep fines. When you sign up during the open enrollment period for ASCAP/BMI, you’ll be covered for the entire 2021 calendar year.

It’s easy to enroll for this exclusive ARVC member benefit. Just visit arvc.org/music by December 4 to secure your license for 2021. The peace of mind you’ll receive will be like music to your ears.