§974 Military musical units and musicians: performance policies; restriction on performance in competition with local civilian musicians

Summary

Military music groups and service members performing in an official role must not perform in ways that compete with local civilian musicians. That rule covers performances that are more than incidental at events that are not paid for by the U.S. Government and are not free to the public, and it covers background, dinner, dance, or other social music at off‑base events that are not government funded. Exceptions include performances at official government‑funded events; patriotic or national‑holiday concerts, parades, or celebrations that are free to the public; incidental music at otherwise private or unfunded events; events run by military welfare societies or traditional military morale events or events for the benefit or recognition of service members, their families, veterans, or DoD civilian employees (as allowed by rules); and performances for dignitaries or to support good relations with other nations. The competition ban does not apply to performances outside the United States, its commonwealths, or possessions. Members may not be paid for an official performance beyond their normal military pay and allowances. With Secretary of Defense approval under Department rules, a military musical unit may sell recordings to the public only at prices that cover production and distribution costs; money from sales must go back into the account that paid for the recording and be used the same way. The appropriate Secretary may accept gifts of money, property, or services to benefit a military musical unit; money gifts go into the unit’s account and are used the same way as that account. "Military musical unit" means a band, ensemble, chorus, or similar military music group.