Broadcast Music Inc., the giant music licensing agency that represents hundreds of thousands of songwriters, including Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga, has agreed to sell itself to New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm, the organization announced on Tuesday.
Today, the Television Music License Committee (TVMLC) appointed David B. Amy, a veteran executive in the local TV broadcast industry, as its chairman. TVMLC is a nonprofit trade association that negotiates music […]
Collins | Music Rights: A Complicated Composition
In today’s music licensing scenario it’s not clear who owns a piece of music, or which performance rights organization each copyright owner is affiliated with. The lack of a competitive marketplace with ASCAP and BMI remains a sticking point and it’s sure this conversation is only just beginning to heat up.
DOJ Extends ASCAP-BMI Comments Deadline
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is reviewing the antitrust consent decrees that govern ASCAP and BMI — the decrees that require that these performing rights organizations treat similarly situated licensees (and artists) in the same way and that allow a court to review the reasonableness of the rates that ASCAP and BMI propose. Those comments were initially due tomorrow, July 10, but the DOJ announced on its website that the comment deadline has been extended until Aug. 9.
For more than 75 years, the decrees have governed the process by which these two organizations license rights to publicly perform musical works. Justice says the review is to determine whether the decrees should be maintained in their current form, modified or terminated.
Exclusives
A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that music licensing giant BMI did not have to abide by the Obama administration’s more restrictive interpretation of how royalties should be collected. The decision dealt a setback to the Justice Department’s effort to require BMI and ASCAP, to license music to digital streaming services, radio and television stations, bars and other music users only if they could issue a “full-work” license.
Performing rights organization ASCAP today appointed media executive Stephanie Ruyle executive vice president and head of licensing, reporting directly to ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews. As a member of ASCAP’s leadership team, Ruyle will be […]
The music licensing agency, whose members include stars like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, reached that milestone a year ahead of its own predictions.
The move is designed to increase ownership transparency in performing rights licensing.
