Attempts to contact several of the named defendants were unsuccessful by deadline, but late in the afternoon I heard from one pretty startled lounge owner. Abi Eshagi, proprietor of the Ibiza Dinner Club in Seattle did not know about the legal action even though the complaints were filed in courts around the country on Monday.

"I have been paying to two different commercial music service subscriptions -- [an] online service and cable service with music channels," Eshagi said. "I have informed ASCAP of this and I have heard nothing further from them. I don't know how many different times an establishment has to pay for the same copyright use."