music modernization act

RMLC Requests Consolidation of ASCAP and BMI Proceeding on Radio Music Royalties – A Step Toward a Unified Process for Resolving All Music Royalty Issues?

By David Oxenford|2023-08-18T10:03:45-05:00August 18th, 2023|Legal News|

In recent weeks, some of the radio trade magazines have been carrying coverage of the litigation between the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and ASCAP and BMI over the rates that will be paid by commercial radio broadcasters for the public performance of musical compositions that are licensed through these Performing Rights Organizations (PROs). Negotiations... Continue Reading…

RMLC Requests Consolidation of ASCAP and BMI Proceeding on Radio Music Royalties – A Step Toward a Unified Process for Resolving All Music Royalty Issues?

By David Oxenford|2023-08-18T10:03:45-05:00August 18th, 2023|Legal News|

In recent weeks, some of the radio trade magazines have been carrying coverage of the litigation between the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) and ASCAP and BMI over the rates that will be paid by commercial radio broadcasters for the public performance of musical compositions that are licensed through these Performing Rights Organizations (PROs). Negotiations... Continue Reading…

An Overview of the Hot Policy Topics in Music Licensing

By David Oxenford|2023-01-26T10:11:37-06:00January 26th, 2023|Legal News|

Royalties paid for the use of music by broadcasters and digital media companies, and other issues about music rights, can be an incredibly dense subject, with nuances that can be overlooked. I participated in a CLE webinar earlier this week, sponsored by the Federal Communications Bar Association, where we tried to demystify some of the... Continue Reading…

ATTENTION OLDIES STATIONS (OR OTHERS WHO PLAY PRE-72 RECORDINGS): Think Twice Before You Pony Up Three Years of Royalties Under New MMA Provision

By Kevin Goldberg and Karyn K. Ablin|2019-06-10T11:00:43-05:00June 10th, 2019|Legal News|

Remember our April 4, 2019 “CALLING ALL OLDIES STATIONS!” post that alerted you to a simple form you could file to receive certain protections from potentially crippling infringement awards for unauthorized uses of sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 (aka “pre-72 recordings”)? That post created quite a stir. In fact, we were flooded with...… Continue Reading

DOJ Starts Review of BMI and ASCAP Consent Decrees – Exploring the Background of the Issues

By David Oxenford|2019-06-06T09:54:34-05:00June 6th, 2019|Legal News|

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division yesterday announced that it was starting a review of the ASCAP and BMI antitrust consent decrees that govern the United States’ two largest performing rights organizations for musical compositions (referred to as the “musical work”). The DOJ’s announcement of the initiation of the examination of the consent decrees poses...… Continue Reading

Pre-1972 Sound Recordings and the July 8 SoundExchange Filing Deadline

By David Oxenford|2019-05-20T11:19:23-05:00May 20th, 2019|Legal News|

Recently, the Radio Music License Committee sent out a memo to broadcasters about a July 8, 2019 SoundExchange payment deadline for pre-1972 sound recordings. As with everything in copyright law, the issues surrounding pre-1972 sound recordings are complicated, and the RMLC notice, while seemingly straightforward, still resulted in our receiving lots of questions. These questions...… Continue Reading

CALLING ALL OLDIES STATIONS!

By Karyn K. Ablin and Kevin Goldberg|2019-04-04T16:43:13-05:00April 4th, 2019|Legal News|

WINDOW FOR LIMITING PRE-72 SOUND RECORDING OWNERS’ ABILITY TO COLLECT CRIPPLING DAMAGES AWARDS FROM YOU IS RAPIDLY CLOSING If you are an “Oldies” station – or you play more than a handful of songs from the early 60s/early 70s (or before) in a given week – then this post is for you. There is a...… Continue Reading

ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees Under Review – How Performing Rights Organizations, Antitrust Policy and Statutory Licenses Could Create a Controversy

By David Oxenford|2019-03-07T08:22:03-06:00March 7th, 2019|Legal News|

In the last few weeks, the press has been buzzing with speculation that the Department of Justice is moving toward suggesting changes in the antitrust consent decrees that govern the operations of ASCAP and BMI. Those consent decrees, which have been in place since the 1940s, among other things require that these Performing Rights Organizations...… Continue Reading

Music Modernization Act Becomes Law – Mechanical Rights To Become Easier Just As Performance Rights May Become More Difficult

By David Oxenford|2018-10-15T07:24:24-05:00October 15th, 2018|Legal News|

Last week, after passage by both chambers of Congress and signature by the President, the ‘‘Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act’’ became law. The law underwent a few changes on its journey to approval, adding new provisions in the Senate to those which we summarized here upon its initial passage by the House. The...… Continue Reading