DOJ WON'T BUDGE ON CONSENT DECREES; MARTY WEIGHS IN

The Department of Justice today announced it had completed its review of the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI and would not propose any modifications.

In response, Sony/ATV chief Marty Bandier expressed his displeasure thusly:

“We are extremely disappointed by the DOJ’s decision to issue a misguided and unprecedented interpretation of the consent decrees that is contrary to how they have worked and how the business has operated over many decades. Not only does it contradict the views of the U.S. Copyright Office and the entire music industry, but it will bring significant uncertainty and disorder to a marketplace that has worked well for years, while leaving everybody in the licensing process, including songwriters, to try to figure out how 100% licensing might work. Instead of modernizing the consent decrees, this decision has created a host of problems that will now have to be addressed by the courts and must be addressed by Congress as well.”

BMI, for its part, said it had initiated legal action to challenge the 100% licensing mandate in Federal Court. The PRO's chief, Michael O'Neill, said the DOJ's "interpretation of our consent decree serves no one, not the marketplace, the music publishers, the music users, and most importantly, not our songwriters and composers who now have the government weighing in on their creative and financial decisions."

ASCAP said it would work for legislative reform, which, depending on the outcome of the November election, may mean buying a lot of Trump steaks.