JUDGE REJECTS DOJ ON CONSENT DECREE

An order issued by federal Judge Louis Stanton has rejected the Department of Justice's controversial interpretation of the BMI consent decree, giving BMI the freedom to engage in fractional licensing of music. A scanned copy of the ruling can be found here.

BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill (pictured) and Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman & CEO Marty Bandier quickly released celebratory statements. Warner/Chappell Chairman & CEO Jon Platt and UMPG ruler Jody Gerson added their own statements of approval, which you'll find below.

If you need to get up to speed, know that the DOJ decided to not alter the consent decree for ASCAP and BMI as it pertained to digital licensing, and the two PROs could not do fractionalized licensing, meaning that any song with multiple rights holders represented by different PROs could be OK’d by one rights owner without the consent of the other(s). Understandably, feathers were ruffled, so this ruling proves to be quite the accomplishment.

“As we have said from the very beginning, we believed our consent decree allowed for the decades-long practice of fractional licensing and today we are gratified that Judge Stanton confirmed that belief," said O’Neill. "Our mission has always been to protect the interests of our songwriters, composers and publishers, and we feel we have done just that. Today’s decision is a victory for the entire music community.”

"We are thrilled with Judge Stanton’s common sense interpretation of the consent decree which clarifies that BMI is not required to grant 100% licenses," Bandier added . "His statement that 'nothing in the consent decree gives support to the division’s views' could not be clearer. While the DOJ’s interpretation would have upended decades of licensing practices and caused uncertainty and disorder to everyone in the marketplace, Judge Stanton’s ruling is in the public interest and will benefit all interested parties in the music industry, including songwriters, music publishers and licensors. We can now focus once again on working on behalf of our songwriters”

AN OPEN LETTER FROM JON PLATT:

Dear Songwriters,

I know that the determination of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the issue of 100% licensing of US performance rights in musical compositions has weighed heavily on our minds over the past several months. In July, I wrote to you, promising to keep you up-to-date on everything that happens, as it happens.

Today, I am very pleased to inform you of the result of a legal challenge brought by BMI against the DOJ. Just this afternoon, Judge Stanton ruled that the BMI consent decree does not require 100% licensing. As he states: "The consent decree neither bars fractional licensing nor requires full-work licensing."

While I'm sure this story will continue to unfold, this is a fantastic result which should give us hope that the status quo for US performance rights licensing will not be upended. This is a big win, not just for BMI, but for all publishers and songwriters.

My personal congratulations to the BMI team for this wonderful outcome.

Yours sincerely,
Jon Platt