Canned music

     I've been asked to research the following scenario. The athletic department of a non-profit educational institution "plays" music over its loudspeakers to various activity rooms-- designated for physical education activities including aerobics, jazzercise, weightlifting, etc.

     According to Bruwelheide (1995), the "public reception of a transmission of a performance as it is received on a single receiver of a kind commonly found in homes (41)" is *not* an infringement unless the public is charged directly for the program or if the transmission is further transmitted.

     However, if the athletic department is performing CD's, tapes, or records then it may be infringing.

     My analysis of Bruwelheide's interpretation is that if the athletic department has a radio receiver turned to a station and is piping that station's music to the types of rooms described in the first paragraph... but no further than the physical boundaries of the athletic department... then this is not an infringement.

     Feedback, anyone?

     REFERENCE      Bruwelheide, Janis H. (1995). _The Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators_. 2nd ed. Chicago: ALA; Washington, D.C.: NEA.

     Thanks in advance,

     Glen McKay
     AV Coordinator
     New Mexico Junior College
     Hobbs, NM  88240
     <gmckay[_at_]beta.nmjc.cc.nm.us>