BMI Wins Favorable Ruling Against RMLC’s Attempted Joint Rate Court Proceeding

RMLC Continues Effort to Deny Songwriters Fair Compensation and Files Appeal

Posted in News on May 31, 2023

BMI has prevailed in its motion to prevent the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) from relying on a mischaracterization of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) to commence a joint rate court proceeding against BMI and ASCAP before a single Judge.  On Friday, May 26, the Hon. Louis L. Stanton (Southern District of NY), the Judge responsible for the interpretation of the BMI Consent Decree, concluded that neither the BMI Consent Decree nor the MMA justified the RMLC’s June 2022 joint rate petition against BMI and ASCAP. Judge Stanton ordered the RMLC’s rate petition against ASCAP to be assigned to another Judge and tried separately. Unsurprisingly, the RMLC appealed the decision today.


Mike O’Neill, President & CEO of BMI, commented:

“We are extremely pleased that the RMLC’s latest attempt to deny fair compensation to songwriters was dismissed, and that its end run around the clear language of the BMI consent decree and the MMA was properly rejected by the Court. This would have cleared the way for BMI to secure the appropriate value of our affiliates’ music without the distractions the RMLC was trying to create. Unfortunately, the RMLC is once again opting for litigation over negotiation, and we will continue to do what is needed to protect the essential contributions our affiliates make to the radio industry.”

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