ASCAP and BMI: Music Publishers’ Digital Rights Should be Separable

Both American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (“ASCAP”) and Broadcast Music Inc. (“BMI”) have made submissions to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to support the arguments of Sony/ATV and Universal that music publishers should be allowed to choose which services to license through performing right collecting services like ASCAP or BMI.

Their submissions came as the DOJ engages in a review of the collective licensing system triggered by the recent court decision prohibiting music publishers from separately negotiating their digital rights given the consent …

March 21, 2014 Contract / Music

Federal Judge Rules on Pandora/ASCAP Dispute Over Streaming Revenue

Internet radio company Pandora Media has been engaged in litigation with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”) over how much Pandora should be required to pay the society in exchange for Pandora’s right to stream copyrighted music online. A recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote declared that Pandora would be required to continue paying a rate of 1.85% of its revenue to the ASCAP through 2015 – the same rate Pandora has been paying for years.

ASCAP viewed Judge Cote’s …