PartyCenterSoftware.com is sponsoring (and attending) the LaserTag 360 event happening right now, August 7th and 8th in Indianapolis.  Another a

mazing event put on by Creative Works (The Wow Effect) to help new and existing lasertag operators.  Right now Jeff Schilling is walking through over 40 people on how to analyze a lasertag or family entertainment facility and its feasibility.

If you ever wanted to know all the details about operations and development of a lasertag anchored or attraction based facility this is the event you need to attend.

For a list of the upcoming LaserTag 360 event click go to their website at www.LaserTag360.com.

Thanks Jeff and CW gang for putting on another ROCKIN event!

The title of this email was intended to catch your attention. With such a sue happy world we MUST do everything we can to protect and insulate ourselves from those “particular” types of attorneys. Most operators would agree that music is a key component to creating the atmosphere and experience we want our customers to have. Using high energy and popular music helps keep people entertained and keep them spending money at our locations.   I know for myself, before the internet radio became popular, we used Sirius Satellite radio, the personal version, to play music at our location. Our customers could choose whatever station they liked in their private areas although we had ones we would not allow to play as there is NO filter on those stations so the words and content were often questionable.

Interesting fact, one of our customers is friends with Right Said Fred out of the UK. You may recall they had the hit song “I’m too sexy”. While the song was a mega hit internationally and in 1992 hit big on the US charts the internet and smart phones were not even in our normal vocabulary. Once smart phones, and the iPhone in particular, hit the scene, the popularity of custom song ring tones exploded. As you can imagine the hook of the I’m Too Sexy song was just too much for the consumer to resist.   Now Right Said Fred makes more in royalties from the ring tone royalties than off the songs rotation when it was popular in the US (according to our source).

Now on to the heart of this email. Being SUED… I’m sure many of you know that artists and musicians make their livings mostly off of royalties from when their songs are played on the radio or on TV.   As consumers we can listen to the radio, play our CD or iPods and even play music off the internet for personal use. The businesses that provide those tunes for us to listen to are the ones who are responsible for the royalties. The key to this entire equation, and why so many people are getting sued, is that if you are using a CD, iPod, Internet Radio, Satellite radio (Personal or home subscription) or playing the local radio station in your facility you are BREAKING THE LAW. You are not allowed to play any song or portion of a song requiring a royalty payment in a commercial setting without paying the appropriate organization like ASCAP or BMI. While the chances of someone coming into your center and suing you is remote, it is happening all over the country in other industries. Larger franchise locations or chain stores are being hit with lawsuits for playing local radio stations or using cd or iPods. Some people say “But I paid for the CD or I paid for the song online”. Even if you purchase the CD or music online this does not exempt you from paying a royalty when playing it in your facility in a commercial setting. The reason is that you are granted personal use of that song and can listen in your personal office or car but not in a commercial setting. You need to first check with your attorney on what your government regulations are and then find a service that will pay those royalties for you.

 

How to protect you and your business….

One such product I found is called ControlPLAY (http://www.ControlPLAY.com). They are also known as Bowling Music Network for those in the bowling business. One of the best features or functions that they have is not just to play the music or music videos for you, but they offer “PARENT APPROVED” stations so that all questionable language and video content is edited out. This is to assure that you can play the hottest music without coming under fire from the parents concerned about the content of the music. Later in the night, you can switch to the regular station when the younger crowd is gone.

Obviously ControlPLAY and the other commercially available music or music video systems will pay any and all royalties that occur while using their service. This allows you a care free and potentially lawsuit free existence when it comes to playing music and music videos in your facility.

The biggest feature that comes in the ControlPLAY suite actually has nothing to do with royalty payments at all. This feature is the personalized marketing feature. You can set audio or even full video marketing commercials inside your own personal radio station. That means you can promote upcoming events or even when a meal time hits you can suggest that they get a mouthwatering burger with gourmet French fries… The customers have no clue they are listening to a personalized station except that all the commercial breaks are focused solely on promoting sales within your own company.

The reason for this article was not to scare you but just to make you aware that you might possibly be violating the law and putting yourself in a situation that is not necessary. Find a solution that will pay your royalties and one that will help you filter the content of what you are delivering to your customers. This will release a burden off of your plate while allowing you to create an amazing atmosphere for your customers.

FYI Similar laws also apply to television and sports games shown in your faciilty.   Some people try to save a few dollars by paying for TV or Satellite TV as if they were a home or personal account as often the commercial TV accounts are two times higher than a personal account. Why are they higher? They get charged more and have to pay different royalties when being rebroadcast in a commercial setting.

So I don’t get sued…..I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. This is an opinion and I do not claim any of the above information to be factual or without error. Consult your own attorney and local government for the rules and regulations you must follow in regards to paying royalties or using a service that will pay the royalties for you…

By Kathryn Rem

The former Kick’s location reopened Friday as a different family entertainment center, America’s Incredible Pizza Company.

Incredible Pizza, headquartered in Springfield, Mo., has 15 other centers in Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Tennessee and one in Monterrey, Mexico. This is the first in Illinois.

“We’re a family entertainment center based on Christian values,” said Rick Pogue, company president, who was in Springfield last week for the ribbon cutting.

His business card says the company “exists to bring families and friends together through great food and fun…We operate our business by Christian principles, delivering a positive family experience and a fair return to our company.”

Eighty local employees have been hired at the facility, 2744 S. Sixth St., Pogue said.

The 1950s-themed venue (pictured above) offers laser tag, indoor go-karts, mini bowling and more than 50 arcade and video games. Game winners can redeem points for prizes.

There are three large dining rooms and four private rooms for birthday parties, showers, church events, sports team banquets, family reunions and other get-togethers.

An all-you-can-eat buffet features pizza, pasta, taco, nacho, salad and dessert bars, plus two entrees each day, burgers, vegetables, mashed potatoes and the company’s signature item — cinnamon rolls.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Food service ends an hour before closing. Website: www.incrediblepizza.com. Phone: 280-4067.

For more information about Incredible Pizza, plus other restaurant news, read the A La Carte column in the business section of the print edition of today’s (Jan. 9)  SJ-R.

Read Here

UK VAT changes for 4 Jan 2011

Overview

The standard rate of VAT in the UK is changing to 20% on the 4th of January 2011!

Cameron Park, Ca., August 24, 2010 –Scott Drummond, President of Agile Software and Marketing, received notification that their product PartyCenterSoftware.com, is a finalist for the “Innovation of the year” award presented by the Play Providers Association (PPA), arguably the UK’s most influential association for the fun industry.  “It was great to see our PartyCenterSoftware.com program be recognized for the contributions it is making to help the fun industry.  As a previous operator I understand the struggles that our customers go through and we have found a solution to help make both their lives and their profit better!”

Drummond will be exhibiting at the Leisure International Week in Birmingham, UK in late September and along with 9 other finalist will display his PartyCenterSoftware.com product to be voted on by members of the PPA.  He hopes to bring home top prize for his newly released version of his online party booking and facility management software. “This will be our first year exhibiting at LIW so I am very excited to meet many of our customers in person and if we can bring home the award it will make for one great trip!  I’m just thankful for our customers and all they do to help us grow as a business”, said Drummond.

Read more…

BY JAMES S. TYREE Oklahoman
Published: June 9, 2010

NORMAN — Summer vacation has just started and Eric and Andrea Hanson’s three kids have already reached the ends of their rope.

That’s OK, they’ll just turn and walk another portion of Hey Day Family Fun Center’s ropes course, which is laid out 12 feet above the facility’s floor. “It’s the whole reason we’re here,” Andrea Hanson, of south Oklahoma City, said of the suspended ropes. “It’s awesome because it’s physical activity; I like that it requires some exercise.” Brian Burks, Hey Day’s entertainment and program manager, said the course is the first in Oklahoma at a for-profit facility and is patterned after a larger one used by the Tulsa School District. All participants are tethered to harnesses and there are courses with varying levels of difficulty, all for safety.

“It is a lot of fun but after you do it, you’ll feel like you’ve been working out,” Burks said. The ropes course and other attractions at Hey Day, off Indian Hills Road and Interstate 35 near the Moore-Norman border, offer just a few ideas for summer fun.
Read more…

Mini golf back in Biloxi
By MARY PEREZ – meperez@sunherald.com

BILOXI — Miniature golf is back on the Coast, nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the popular attraction.

Two 18-hole courses are open at Big Play Family Fun Center ahead of the May 20 grand opening. Live oak trees provide some shade and three water features add to the beach theme, along with a bridge, a smattering of fish sculptures, a pirate’s treasure chest and other tropical accessories.

Brandon Wooldridge operates the course for RW Development, his family’s business. He believes it is the first miniature golf attraction on the Coast since Katrina.

The course includes an indoor video arcade and a deck with picnic tables where customers have a view of the action while they eat hot dogs, pizza and snacks prepared in the kitchen. The 36 holes are set back from U.S. 90 near the corner of Beach Boulevard and Veterans Avenue and is one part of what RW Development plans to open in that area.

A new restaurant will open in June along U.S. 90 and adjacent to the golf course. Wooldridge said Biloxi Breeze Beach Club and Restaurant will be decorated in Caribbean colors and have 4,000 square feet of decks facing both the beach and the golf course.

The Biloxi Beach Snowball Company, whose design mimics the Coast Transit Authority trollies, also opened for the season Friday on the beach.

To the east, the punch list of work is being completed at RW Development’s South Beach Hotel and Suites.

“It will be opening this summer,” said Wooldridge.

The developers originally planned a casino and other entertainment in the area around Beach Boulevard and Veterans on the Biloxi Strip.

“We’d love to make it the center of Biloxi again,” said Wooldridge.

Wooldridge said the investment in the golf course was $750,000 and combined with the new restaurant will total $1.3 million.

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