Music Copyright Lawsuit Hits Sour Note for Manchester Bar

By: Lisa Redmond, New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — A Manchester country music restaurant and bar is singing the “Working Man Blues” after paying thousands of dollars to settle a music copyright infringement lawsuit.

More than a dozen music companies, led by Broadcast Music Inc., joined a federal lawsuit to force Bonfire Restaurant and Country Bar/Torched Pizza at 950 Elm St. to either pay the licensing fees or pull the plug on the use of copyrighted music.

Pat Mills, general manager at Bonfire, told the Union Leader on Monday that he wrote a $5,000 check two weeks ago to end the lawsuit. “I believe it is settled,’’ he said.
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Bonfire plays music via a jukebox and music videos through Control Play, which provides background music for restaurants and bars, Mills said. In response to an online inquiry, Control Play said it offers licensing at an additional cost.

In the lawsuit, filed on March 29 in U.S. District Court, BMI, which owns 14 million copyrighted musical compositions by 900,000 songwriters, composers and publishers, claims Bonfire has played “at least one song’’ owned by the music companies since it opened in 2017.

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