Letter to the Department of Justice on Music Licensing

Tara Good — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:16:02 +0000

By Tara Good

7.25.2016

Last Friday, the MIC Coalition, which includes WineAmerica, along with bars, restaurants, and streaming services, sent a letter supporting DOJ’s decision to keep in place the longstanding consent decrees which have governed music licensing by ASCAP and BMI for decades.

View Letter to the Department of Justice

Additionally, MIC applauded DOJ’s clarification that the “blanket licenses” advertised by ASCAP and BMI, and detailed in their license terms and affiliate agreements, grant music users a 100% license to play any song in their repertoire. DOJ rejected ASCAP and BMI demands for “fractional licensing,” which would virtually gridlock music licensing, hurting music lovers, artists and songwriters alike.

From the letter:

“We congratulate you on the Department’s work and your decision to preserve the decrees as currently written. The decrees guarantee the fair and efficient licensing of public performance rights for musical works.

“In addition, we concur with the Department’s conclusion that 100 percent licensing is necessary for a functioning music marketplace. The current blanket licenses, consistent with the license terms and affiliate agreements of ASCAP and BMI, do not limit the rights granted to licensees to “fractional” interests in compositions in the ASCAP/BMI repertoires; rather, they grant licensees the right to perform the compositions in the ASCAP/BMI repertoires as a “whole” (whether the compositions are owned entirely by members of the same PRO or by co-owners affiliated with different PROs). Modifying the consent decrees to allow fractional licensing would gridlock the licensed music market and introduce a structure that amplifies the market power of fractional co-owners and all but guarantees widespread collusion among competitors. That would not be good for consumers, songwriters or artists, nor would it satisfy the public interest.”

Additional links:

The Justice Department gets it right

Billboard: ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews on Fighting Back Against the Department of Justice’s Licensing Ruling ‘Games of Thrones’-Style

***

Questions? Contact Tara Good, Director of Operation at tgood@nullwineamerica.org

WineAmerica is the national voice the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations. As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy.

Music Licensing Archives - WineAmerica

Letter to the Department of Justice on Music Licensing