David Lowery, Steve Winogradsky and Chris Castle discuss the implications of the new rule by the U.S. Department of Justice re-interpreting the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees to require 100% licensing and prohibiting partial withdrawal.

David Lowery is the founder of Cracker and Camper van Beethoven, leading artist rights advocate and writer of The Trichordist blog, and teaches at the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia at Athens.

Steve Winogradsky is a senior music lawyer and co-proprietor of the music services company Winogradsky/Sobel in Los Angeles.  Steve teaches at UCLA and Cal State Northridge and is the author of a leading legal handbook Music Publishing: The Complete Guide.

Chris Castle is founder of Christian L. Castle, Attorneys in Austin, Texas and edits the MusicTechPolicy blog.  He is formerly an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law, and lectures at law schools, music schools and business schools in the U.S. and Canada.

“Where’d You Get the Music” performed by Guy Forsyth.

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Topics Covered:

–The DOJ’s new rule in the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees.  Background link to DOJ statement and link to BMI’s “pre-motion” letter to BMI rate court judge outlining BMI’s objections to new DOJ rule.

–Will songwriters have to indemnify PROs for antitrust violations of failing to renegotiate licenses?

–Who bears the administrative costs?

–How DOJ’s new rule is actually anticompetitive and anticompetitive aspects of direct licensing.

–Is DOJ rule Google’s payback to Pharrell Williams refusing to license for YouTube?

–Devastating impact on music in television programs and motion pictures, “WKRP revisited”

–Google’s influence on the new rule through Renata B. Hesse, the new head of the Antitrust Division.  Background link: How Google Took Over the Justice Department Antitrust Division: Renata Hesse’s Timeline

–What is the plain English version of the new rule?

–How U.S. Copyright Office rejected DOJ’s position.  Background link to Copyright Office report rejecting DOJ’s position.

–DOJ requirement that songwriters renegotiate split agreements on every song registered with ASCAP and BMI

–Genre-based impact on hip hop and country music.

 

Next up:  Michelle Lewis and Kay Hanley of Songwriters of North America and David Lowery discuss DOJ ruling from songwriter’s perspective with Chris Castle.