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When Malcolm Love, owner of Busy Bee Café in Wellington Road, got fed up of demands from the Performing Rights Society (PRS) to pay a minimum of £100 to play background music for his customers he soon found a very creative alternative. Malcolm trawled the Internet seeking sources of royalty free music and stumbled upon Ed's Mixed Bag (EMB), a weekly podcast broadcast from Palm Springs in Florida!

EMB is a weekly Podcast of royalty free music put together by Ed Ovett, a proud father of 4 and 5 grandkids ... so far! Malcolm approached Ed, who was delighted to give him the green light to play his weekly music fest to the patrons of the Busy Bee. Ed has also sent copies of some of his podcast CDs across the Atlantic to give out to customers. Ed announced the transatlantic tie-up via Twitter, asking "Cool, wonder if they Twitter?"

Malcolm has no doubt that the mix of modern and traditional music, interspersed with light-hearted humour from Ed, is a great success with his customers. Malcolm told My Mablethorpe, "Ed's choice of music for his podcasts appeals across all the age groups and we've had many enquiries asking how to hear more." He went on to say, "Playing royalty free music doesn't just avoid the extortionate fees demanded by the PRS, it provides a platform for up and coming musicians and provides an opportunity for them to receive airtime that they might not otherwise get, thus doing the artists and everyone else a favour. We also use and recommend RFM Radio UK."

Malcolm's experiences may well inspire other Mablethorpe businesses to follow suit. Any establishment that plays music that can be listened to by employees or members of the public, whether pre-recorded or via radio, normally requires a licence from the Performing Rights Society. By using royalty free music, not only can this be avoided but it can open up a new world of entertainment.

In his latest podcast, Ed Ovett talks about the Busy Bee café and his visit to My Mablethorpe to view some of the videos depicting what Mablethorpe folk get up to in these parts ....

Listen to the Busy Bee's "Shout Out" on Ed's Mixed Bag

Listen to the latest podcast on Ed's Mixed Bag

Follow Ed's Mixed Bag on Twitter

LATEST ON THIS STORY ....

Malcolm's stand against the PRS caught the attention of Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie, who present an award-winning live show from Manchester on BBC Radio 2 each night between Monday and Thursday.  Listen to this clip from their show and you'll see they seem right behind Malcolm ......

BBC Radio 2 Radcliffe & Maconie Show 26/01/2010