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Publication

DiMA President & CEO: Critics of ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees Are Missing the Point

"The decrees are not broken," writes Garrett Levin, president and CEO of digital services trade group DiMA.

Billboard
Garrett Levin

August 11, 2020

The U.S. Department of Justice recently convened a series of workshops to review “competition in licensing in public performance rights.” For a government agency considering seismic changes to music licensing laws, it was well-intentioned and an appropriate exercise. Regrettably, however, the conversation lacked the critical perspective of numerous voices, including the music streaming services and consumer advocates.

The discussion throughout the workshop, much like the larger ongoing conversation around music publishing reforms, repeatedly returned to calls for “modernizing” the Justice Department’s consent decrees that protect licensees and consumers from the anti-competitive effects of the two largest performing rights organizations (PROs) — ASCAP and BMI. The requests for “modernization” were virtually all premised on the need to address the innovations in music distribution made possible by digital music companies. Modernization is an important goal when outdated systems truly no longer work; as an industry we recognized that was the case in mechanical licensing and came together to pass the Music Modernization Act.

But let’s be very clear that the PRO consent decrees are not hindering the music industry or in need of modernization because they happen to have originated in the 1940s. The decrees aren’t unnecessary and outdated because they have been in place for decades. They have existed for decades precisely because of their ongoing value in ensuring fair and competitive access to music works. And they aren’t obsolete because of innovations in music distribution — improvements made possible because the consent decrees recognize that differences in distribution tech don’t equate to differences in licensing needs.

Read the full letter in Billboard here

 

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, Copyright, Digital Streaming, DOJ, Licensing, Music, Performance Rights Organizations (PROs)
Publication

Graham Warns DOJ Not To ‘Disrupt’ Music Market With ASCAP-BMI Changes

Inside Radio
Inside Radio

February 19, 2019

The new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is sending a clear signal to the Dept. of Justice not to throw the music marketplace into chaos with proposed changes to the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who heads the Antitrust Division, has backed a “smooth transition” toward a “market-based” framework. That could have implications for how much radio ultimately pays to songwriters for music use.

ASCAP/BMI, Congress, Consent Decree, DOJ
Publication

The DOJ’s entertainment industry blitz

American Thinker
Alex Keeney

December 29, 2018

This July, no one in Hollywood was surprised to see his office lobby littered with a prescient edition of The Hollywood Reporter, whose cover story read, “Welcome to Hollywood’s Age of Anxiety.”

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, DOJ, Licensing
Op-Ed

DOJ Must Preserve Consent Decrees to Protect Music Consumer Choice

Morning Consult
John Bodnovich (American Beverage Licensees), Shannon Meade (National Restaurant Association) & Tara Good (WineAmerica)

December 04, 2018

When a customer walks into a bar, restaurant, hotel, brewery or winery, they’re focused on enjoying the experience, not the intricacies of music licensing. Instead, hundreds of thousands of public hospitality venues across the nation are responsible for purchasing a music license from performing rights organizations, like ASCAP and BMI, through a confusing, opaque and often cumbersome process. If music is being played in their business via CD, DJ, band, a streaming platform, karaoke, iPad, radio, television or otherwise, they must buy a license.

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, Licensing, Performance Rights Organizations (PROs)
Publication

Brewery ensures local songwriters get royalties for their original music

Hometown Life
Sharon Dargay

November 14, 2018

“What I say is we’re the originator of live music here in South Lyon,” Robinson said. “We pay the licenses. We are trying to set a standard here. No bad blood or ill will to anybody else, but you know what? We’re paying. I’m trying to do the right thing. We pay more in music (license fees) now than we pay in excise taxes for alcohol. So we pay about $2,000 a year to BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. That’s more than we pay in alcohol tax.”

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, Licensing, Royalties
Publication

Music Industry Reform Shows Congress Can Still Do Its Job

Real Clear Policy
Christian Thrailkill

November 13, 2018

On October 11, songwriters across America scored a huge win as President Trump signed the Music Modernization Act into law. This bill passed the House and Senate unanimously, underscoring the severe need for this law to correct imbalances afflicting the music industry in the streaming age. The MMA will provide individual songwriters protection from the predatory practices and crony capitalism that have created a large imbalance in pay rates. The most powerful tool to fight against abusive practices by groups like ASCAP and BMI is congressional oversight over what are known as “consent decrees.”

ASCAP/BMI, Congress, Consent Decree, Music Modernization Act
Publication

The Trump Administration Shouldn’t Help Big Music Rob Songwriters

Red State
Seton Motley

October 30, 2018

Whenever the issue of songwriting royalties arises, the most common reaction is “Wait a second – the federal government sets music royalty rates?”

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, Royalties, Songwriters
Publication

The Consent Decrees are at it Again!

R Street
Sasha Moss

September 25, 2018

For the first time in nearly three years, music licensing has become a hot topic in Washington, D.C. Last time I wrote extensively on the subject was in “Transparency in Music Licensing and the Statutory Remedy Problem,” a paper responding to the controversy surrounding two District Court consent decrees involving Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), two major performance-rights organizations (PROs)

ASCAP/BMI, Congress, Consent Decree, Digital Streaming
Publication

DOJ Urged to Maintain Music Consent Decrees as Roundtables Continue

Medium
The MIC Coalition

May 14, 2018

On May 14, 2018, the MIC Coalition sent the following letter to Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim urging the Department of Justice to leave in place the important protections in the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees that help maintain efficient licensing for music users and fair compensation to music creators.

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decrees, DOJ, Music Industry
Publication

Why DOJ Is Right To Appeal BMI Consent Decree Ruling

Law 360
David Balto

November 28, 2016

Jimi Hendrix’s famous lyrics “and so castles made of sand fall in the sea eventually” perfectly describe the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s problems in the wake of rate court Judge Louis Stanton’s September decision to reject the DOJ’s interpretation of its consent decree with performance rights organization (PRO) Broadcast Music Inc.

ASCAP/BMI, Consent Decree, DOJ, Music Industry
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