Originally Posted by: RazboThat's bizarre. I have no idea what an establishment needs to have licensed to have live bands, and why is it the establishment and not the band?

It does seem odd to most people because it is rarely discussed much less enforced. But, it is (& has been for years) part of copyright & licensing law:

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html

That page clarifies many other details about playing for personal use, etc.