Sony/ATV - BMI

PROS AND CONS: The New York Times' Ben Sisario reports that Sony/ATV chieftain Marty Bandier is amping up his long-time threat to pull out of performance-rights agencies ASCAP and BMI if the Justice Department's current review doesn't yield desired changes. In a letter to thousands of the pubco's writers, Bandier complained that current licensing rules don't address the current, streaming-heavy landscape. Without BMI, et al, streameries would have to negotiate rates directly with publishers. UMPG has already begun work on an online system that would bypass the PROs, the story notes, and Sony/ATV may well follow suit. BMI echoed the call for greater publisher flexibility, fearing an all-out exodus. Read the story here. (7/11p)