Myrtle Beach restaurant sued for playing Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Dunn songs. Here’s why
A Myrtle Beach Irish pub is facing a lawsuit by a national music corporation for allegedly performing songs without a license.
It’s at least one of two places along the Grand Strand that have been slapped with a copyright infringement suit from Broadcast Music this year.
A second suit also alleging copyright infringement was filed against a Pawleys Island bar in January.
The company is a performance rights organization that collects license fees from businesses that use music from its catalog of more than 22 million musical works. The fees collected are distributed to songwriters, composers and music publishers as royalties, according to the company.
BMI filed the suit in U.S. District Court April 7, 2025, accusing The Irish Exit, which operates as The Ole Irish Pub, of allowing public performances of several songs in different genres without purchasing a license. The suit also names James Byrne and Theresa Byrne.
A message left for the pub and its owners was not immediately returned.
The suit claims since May 2022, BMI has reached out to the defendants more than 50 times over the copyright issue. The correspondence also included cease and desist letters, ordering the pub to stop performing BMI music.
There were five songs allegedly performed on Feb. 12, 2025, at the pub and listed by the New York-based company as “willful copyright infringement” in the lawsuit.
Those songs include Hank Williams Jr.’s “Family Tradition,” Ronnie Dunn’s “Neon Moon” and Creed’s “Higher,” written by Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti.
Any bar or restaurant offering music performances, whether that be live, DJ or recorded, must have a license through a performing rights group, such as BMI, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Society of European Stage Authors and Composers.
Although many restaurants and bars in the Myrtle Beach area offer live music on various weekdays and weekends throughout the year, it is up to the business to secure the license, not the performer.
Depending on size of the venue and the type of music being played, such as live or DJ, a music license for a small bar could cost from $300 to $400 annually to up to $2,000.
The suit is asking for the Myrtle Beach pub to be restrained from performing the music without a license, as well as paying statutory damages and costs.
This story was originally published April 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
