The Water Tank Bar & Grill on McNeil in Northwest Austin is facing a lawsuit from ASCAP, the not-for-profit performing rights organization that represents 1.1 million music creators, for failure to obtain a license and therefore “consistently performing musical works without permission,” the organization announced last week.
ASCAP’s licenses – purchased by performing venues, bars, and anywhere that features musical entertainment – extend permission for recording artists’ work to be played for groups or performed publicly by cover artists or in a karaoke setting.
According to Jackson Wagener, ASCAP spokesman and senior vice president of business & legal affairs, members of their team have reached out to the Water Tank consistently over the past three years, offering them opportunities to obtain a license, which they have refused.
When reached for comment, the Water Tank told the Chronicle: “At The Water Tank, we proudly support Austin’s vibrant music scene and its talented artists, and we will continue to do so. No legal filings have been issued to us, and we remain committed to working in good faith to keep live music thriving in our community.”
“Most businesses know that an ASCAP blanket license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently and at a reasonable price – while compensating music creators fairly,” ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams writes in the press release regarding the pending suit, sent to media on Oct. 15.
Those businesses that don’t know quickly find out, as ASCAP monitors events listings for non-licensed bars and venues with a keen eye. Licensing costs vary depending on the kind of music performance a space plans to host, according to a 2025 rate schedule document for “Restaurants, Bars, Nightclubs, and Similar Establishments” available on their website. Live music, recorded music, and “enhancements to recorded music” – a catchall referring, but not limited, to “karaoke, DJs, emcees, dancing, shows, acts or games” – accrue different base charges according to frequency and venue capacity. The annual rate is also adjusted for reported revenue and can range between $326 and $1,710 per year.
The Water Tank’s website advertises karaoke five nights a week, weekly live music nights, and occasional DJ performances. Bandsintown.com claims the venue has a capacity of 500 people.
While licensing costs are assessed by the above criteria, back-payment fees requested through litigation can be more than triple the yearly rate, as they attempt to recoup what songwriters would have been paid via licensing fees during the bar’s non-licensed operation. Settlements are privately arranged and no dollar amount has been given for the suit against the Water Tank.
Wagener insists that litigation is a last resort for the organization. “It’s never our preferred way to resolve these things. We prefer just to have the owners of establishments buy an ASCAP license,” he says. “Most of these matters end in settlement, and that’s because, again, our goal is not to put anybody out of business, it’s to come to a fair agreement about what the songwriters should have been paid.”
Similarly to a 2019 case leveled against now-shuttered Sixth Street venue the Nook Amphitheater, the Chronicle was made aware of the lawsuit via a press release sent with the subject line: “Austin Venue Refuses to Pay Songwriters, Profits from Their Music.” Nine other establishments in cities outside of Texas are also facing fresh suits, according to the release.
Wagener, and the release, reminds everyone that ASCAP not only issues payouts to well-known musicians, but also professional songwriters whose work happens behind the scenes.
“For that class of songwriters, the royalties that they earn, the money that they’re paid by ASCAP is oftentimes their primary, if not their sole, source of income. For those people the money that they get from ASCAP truly is what’s paying the rent. It’s what’s putting food on a table, it’s what’s putting their kids through school,” he says.
Performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC distribute earnings from licensing fees to these songwriters and others in the form of royalties. Last year, ASCAP paid out $1.397 billion to musicians and represented human creators’ rights in the face of AI developments.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to SESAC as SESAP. The Chronicle regrets the error.