Summarizing the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees
As you have been reading in plenty of places (including this blog), the Music Modernization Act of 2018 and the reforms put into place by it will continue to have a positive impact on those who create music. In recent months, discussion regarding possible termination of the ASCAP and BMI federal consent decrees has begun. This was noted in an article by Nate Rau in The Tennessean on March 3, 2019. So just exactly what are these consent decrees? And why should we even want to see them terminated? The answer lies in monopoly and price-fixing litigation initiated by the United States Department of Justice over 80 years ago in the Southern District court of New York. In 1941, agreed orders, also known as decrees, were presented to and approved by the court. ASCAP has the most recent modified decree on its web site. This was signed in 2001. The BMI decree was amended last in 1994. If you can find the BMI decree, please send me the link. Executives from both ASCAP and BMI hav...