Radio Commerce Group to Enter Price Court docket Proceedings With ASCAP, BMI Individually — For Now

Whereas the Radio Music Licensing Committee awaits an appeals courtroom choice in its so-far unsuccessful try to mix charge courtroom proceedings with ASCAP and BMI underneath a single choose, the commerce group has filed federal petitions to start the processes individually within the Southern District of New York.

Normally, such charge proceedings petitions are initiated after negotiations between the efficiency rights organizations and the RMLC show fruitless. Underneath these petitions, the PROs will every make the case for what charge it thinks their songwriters and publishers are entitled to obtain when their songs are performed on the radio. This day trip, for the interval of 2022-2026, the RMLC is in search of to keep up the identical charges it had underneath the prior settlement which coated 2017-2021.

In July 2022, the RMLC tried to get ASCAP and BMI mixed right into a single charge continuing, thus displaying its hand that it felt charge negotiations had failed. For many years, every PRO had its personal separate charge continuing, however about seven or eight years in the past, the RMLC started a brand new charge courtroom technique of attempting to assign market share to the 4 U.S. PROs — ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and World Music Rights — in try to preserve the charges in parity with market share, irrespective of every PRO’s music catalog. In submitting its petition to consolidate the speed proceedings to the Southern District of New York, which oversees each charge proceedings and the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, the RMLC mentioned the act was justified by the Music Modernization Act of 2018 that modified how the the Southern District assigns the speed courtroom continuing.

The step to mix the speed proceedings into one was seen by some music trade executives as an extra try to pursue that charge technique. Having a single choose, as a substitute of bifurcated charge courtroom proceedings, may benefit the RMLC as a result of it will seemingly pit BMI and ASCAP towards one another, vying for a better charge than the opposite with each PROs arguing over market share.

However in Might this 12 months, Southern District Court docket Decide Stanton dominated towards the RMLC’s consolidation petition so the radio commerce group subsequently appealed that call. The Second District Appeals Court docket has but to subject a ruling on the RMLC movement, however within the meantime, the RMLC is getting the ball rolling with the speed courtroom by submitting amended petitions on BMI on Aug. 10 and on ASCAP on Tuesday.

Regardless of submitting petitions for the 2 charge courtroom proceedings, the RMLC petition for the ASCAP charge courtroom continuing says that if the Second Circuit Appeals Court docket in the end agrees with the RMLC place to mix the 2 charge courtroom proceedings into one, “it reserves all rights at the appropriate time” to pursue a unitary motion towards ASCAP and BMI.

The ASCAP charge continuing covers the present five-year time period which started on Jan. 1, 2022. Within the prior time period (2017-2021), RMLC mentioned it paid a mixed 3.51% of internet income as a royalty pool for the 2 PROs, with ASCAP getting 1.73% of that primarily based on market share claims it made on the time — which the RMLC now says was “a representation that turned out to be false.” In the meantime, BMI acquired 1.78% of radio stations’ internet income.

Nonetheless, in Might 2022, in line with the petition, the RMLC requested ASCAP and BMI if they might be prepared to roll ahead the mixed 3.51% of internet income royalty pool, supplied that ASCAP and BMI would agree on a mechanism for assessing every of their market shares.

Though the speed degree could be the identical, the RMLC implies it’s truly a rise as a result of the mixed ASCAP and BMI share of complete performances on RMLC stations seemingly has diminished since when the prior agreements started, the RMLC argues in its petition.

In the meantime, it appears like BMI is requesting a charge enhance from 1.78% to 2.95%, in line with what the RMLC states within the BMI petition; whereas the RMLC ASCAP petition doesn’t disclose the speed ASCAP is in search of.

The RMLC didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

“The RMLC would rather continue to waste time and money on expensive litigation than simply paying songwriters a fair royalty for the use of their music,” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews mentioned in an announcement. “It’s not that complicated. Simply treat music creators who support your successful and profitable businesses with dignity and respect and everyone wins.”

Whereas the PROs and the RMLC watch for the speed courtroom proceedings to make a willpower, all events have agreed to an interim charge that permits radio to proceed to play music with out copyright infringement.