The Justice Department says there needs to be further review of two music licensing consent decrees that allow music users to secure a blanket license for rights rather than having to negotiate individually for them. That is according to Justice Antitrust Chief Makan Delrahim in remarks at a Vanderbilt University Law School virtual event, “The Music Industry and Antitrust Law.” He said there remain issues that still need to be worked out.
FCC watchers have been itching to get a look at the consent decree between Sinclair and the FCC resolving multiple investigations, but will have to wait a few days more, according to an FCC spokesperson, who said the FCC is waiting for commissioners to finish their statements before releasing it.
Sinclair To Pay FCC $48M Civil Penalty
The FCC consent decree is largest ever paid by a broadcaster and stems from its negotiations to buy Tribune. “Sinclair’s conduct during its attempt to merge with Tribune was completely unacceptable,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Today’s penalty, along with the failure of the Sinclair-Tribune transaction, should serve as a cautionary tale to other licensees seeking commission approval of a transaction in the future.”
The FCC announced a consent decree with Media General by which Media General agreed to pay a $700,000 “settlement payment” to the U.S. Treasury to settle the investigation of its attempts to enforce the provisions of a joint sales agreement with Schurz Communications.
