Hi All,
I find my current provider is not giving me all of this coverage and I need to make a change.
Whom do you recommend? Also, are there blanket coverages available for all of this?
Beyond this, are there other licenses and policies needed to DJ?
Thanks
I am a member of and get my insurance from National Association of Mobile Entertainers. The American DJ Association also provides it to their members.
The music question is complicated but as long as you paid for every tune you have, you should be fine. But, even that is up for discussion. Some believe you must obtain the music from an authorized distributor like Promo Only.
I know no DJ that got in trouble for playing music they paid for.
Then there is the question of private event like a wedding or public place like a club.
Like I said it is complicated.
Which liability coverage you're holding? I am also looking to add liability coverage for my business and looking for a few recommendation
Not sure where you are from, but in the USA, no one can offer a dj any type of insurance or license for music.
ascap and BMI only offer licensing to VENUES.
The source of the music is irrelevant. All cds, mp3s, record pool, Apple Music, Spotify, mix tapes you and friends made in the 80’s, don’t matter. The venue still needs to obtain licensing.
so unless you own a venue, don’t give ascap and BMI licensing a 2nd thought.
get liability insurance that protects you.
this is just my opinion and should not be considered legal advice😁
Yes, I agree with the above about music license. I am a music software author and do gigs with my software. When I started my business I was concerned about the music licensing requirements. I spoke directly with an ASCAP representative. Each venue is required to carry all three licenses. Those three licensing companies do not provide licenses for DJ's as the music they play at venues is covered by the venue license. As for weddings or private parties, I did not speak to the representative specifically about that but in my research and other discussions it appears to be a grey area.
The above is not meant to be legal advice, just my personal experience.
As for liability insurance I called my insurance agent about a $1 million liability umbrella policy and his advice was that he did not think it was needed for my DJ type of business (it's Music Bingo). I use a single L1 Pro16 and rarely a flat screen HDTV on a stand at my gigs. He said the likelihood of someone getting injured by my equipment is so remote that I would be needlessly spending money. I know there is a very remote chance something could happen, but for an insurance agent talking me out of insurance sent a pretty clear message that I probably don't need it. However, If I was setting up lights, smoke, tripod speakers, etc. that could potentially harm someone from falling or allergic reaction I would probably seek out insurance. Just my two cents.