U.S. Department
of Justice
Public Workshop on Competition in Licensing Music Public Performance Rights
The workshop was free and open to the public and made available as a webcast.
Washington, DC
United States
Event Details
Workshop Information
The Department of Justice (DOJ) held a virtual public workshop on July 28 and 29, 2020, to discuss competition in the licensing of public performance rights in the music industry. The workshop provided a further venue for industry stakeholders to weigh in on the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees and their implications for antitrust law enforcement and policy.
A series of panels discussed competition issues relating to the various types of public performance licenses offered in the marketplace, competition between performing rights organizations (PROs), such as ASCAP, BMI, and GMR, and the licensing of music to end-users. Panelists discussed whether or not certain terms of the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees should be modified, and whether the decrees were inhibiting innovative business models that may hurt consumers or artists. These panels included executives, PROs, songwriters, music publishers, music licensees, legal and economic experts, and other industry stakeholders.
Date and Virtual Attendance
|
July 28, 2020 July 29, 2020 |
The workshop was free and open to the public and made available as a webcast. |
Workshop Agenda
July 28, 2020 |
|
| 12:30 p.m. |
Opening Remarks: “Thank You for the Music”
Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 12:40 p.m. |
Songwriter Keynote
LeAnn Rimes |
| 12:55 p.m. |
Session 1: Remarks from Stakeholders on the Consent Decrees David Israelite, President and CEO, National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) Michelle Lewis, Executive Director, Songwriters of North America (SONA) Elizabeth Matthews, CEO, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Michael O’Neill, President and CEO, Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) The Honorable Gordon Smith, President and CEO, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) DOJ Moderator: Karina Lubell, Assistant Chief, Competition Policy and Advocacy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 1:55 p.m. |
Session 2: Public Performance Licensing Alternatives Panelists discussed the use and viability of alternatives to blanket licenses, including direct, adjustable-fee, per-program, and per-segment licenses under the Decrees. They also addressed the use and viability of source and through-to-the-audience licenses and whether those types of licenses should be limited or expanded. Finally, the panel discussed whether these alternatives presented a “genuine choice” to music users or whether the genuine choice provision of the Decrees should be modified. Panelists Jackie Brenneman, General Counsel, National Association of Theatre Owners Ted Cohen, Managing Partner, TAG Strategic David Kokakis, Chief Counsel, Universal Music Publishing Group Janet McHugh, Executive Director, TV Music License Committee Mike Steinberg, Executive Vice President of Creative and Licensing, BMI DOJ Moderator: Yvette Tarlov, Assistant Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 3:15 p.m. |
Songwriter Keynote
Pharrell Williams |
| 3:30 p.m. |
Session 3: Competition Between PROs for Songwriters and Publishers The third session discussed competition between the PROs for artists. Panelists discussed the membership provisions of the ASCAP/BMI decrees, including provisions relating to eligibility to join a PRO, resignations, the maximum terms of membership agreements and music licenses, the use and transparency of licenses-in-effect, and member audit rights. Panelists Danielle Aguirre, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, NMPA Jordan Bromley, Board Member, Music Artists Coalition Bart Herbison, Executive Director, Nashville Songwriters Association International Clara Kim, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs, ASCAP Jack Kugell, Board Member, SONA DOJ Moderator: Owen Kendler, Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
July 29, 2020 |
|
| 12:30 p.m. |
Opening Remarks
Owen Kendler, Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 12:35 p.m. |
Songwriter Keynote
Jon Bon Jovi |
| 12:50 p.m. |
Session 4: Licensing Music to Users The fourth session discussed the licensing of music to end-users. Panelists discussed potential modifications to the Decrees including the “similarly situated” and interim fee provisions of the Decrees. The panel also addressed if there was a need for more robust disclosure of ASCAP’s and BMI’s repertoires to licensees and potential impediments to such disclosure. Finally, the panel considered whether the Decrees were effective or ineffective, created efficiencies or inefficiencies, or inhibited innovative business models. Panelists John Bodnovich, Executive Director, American Beverage Licensees Peter Brodsky, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Rick Kaplan, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, NAB Stuart Rosen, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, BMI Tres Williams, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs, iHeartMedia, Inc. DOJ Moderator: Ben Matelson, Trial Attorney, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 2:15 p.m. |
Session 5: Economists’ Views and Wrap-up The last session provided a venue for economists to discuss the economic effects of the Decrees. Panelists debated ASCAP’s and BMI’s market power and any constraints on that market power. Additionally, the panel discussed whether the emergence of new PROs and new technologies, including streaming digital music and movie services, made the Decrees obsolete. Panelists Dr. Adam B. Jaffe, Brandeis University Dr. Kevin M. Murphy, University of Chicago DOJ Moderator: Dr. Jeffrey Wilder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 3:15 p.m. |
Closing Remarks
Rene Augustine, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
View the opening remarks by Makan Delrahim