Northampton County Executive John Stoffa ordered the music turned off in the county government center Monday after being warned by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers that it's owed licensing fees for the music played inside the building and to callers on hold.
In an email to employees last week Stoffa said there wasn't money in the budget for the $2,343 fee. So the county opted instead to silence the music as of the start of April.
The ASCAP website says it collects public performance royalties for more than 427,000 composers, songwriters and others.
Other local governments in the area have also received similar bills.