The Southern District of New York has ruled that the consent decree under which the performance rights organization BMI operates neither bars fractional licensing nor requires full-licensing. That means BMI can return to business as usual and issue licenses for songs based solely on the percentage of ownership a members has. If a joint author is represented by another performance rights organization, then a license must be obtained from that organization too. The ruling overturns an earlier decision made by the Department of Justice in response to the increasing complexity of licensing music in the digital age, which insisted that the consent decree required a joint owner to license 100% notwithstanding any agreements to the contrary among joint owners and publishers. There already is another suit pending in the United States District Court, District of Columbia brought by the Songwriters of North America on the same issue. If the Department of Justice does not rescind its decision, it is likely that ASCAP also will bring suit seek in the Eastern District of New York, the court which oversees the consent decree under which that performance rights organization operates.
United States v. Broadcast Music, Inc., 1:64-cv-03737 (SDNY 2016)
Songwriters of North America et al v. United States, Case No. 1:16-cv-01830 (DCDC)
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