February 24, 2017
Press Release
February 24, 2017—On January 3, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) began a proceeding in Federal Rate Court to set interim fees with the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) when the two parties were unable to reach an agreement. The RMLC sought a lower interim rate, well below BMI’s previous deal, based on incomplete and incorrect information regarding BMI’s share of radio performances.
After a preliminary hearing on Friday, February 17 before BMI’s Rate Court Judge Louis Stanton, the RMLC reversed course and agreed that the 7,000 stations it represents would pay the interim rate proposed by BMI. The payments will cover fees starting January 1, 2017 and until a final fee is set.
Mike Steinberg, Senior Vice President of Licensing for BMI, stated,
“We are pleased that the RMLC recognized the value that BMI music brings to the radio industry across all of its platforms and agreed to BMI’s proposed interim rate. Protecting the income of BMI’s songwriters, composers and music publishers is of paramount importance, and we will continue to pursue a new final rate that reflects current and future marketplace data and is in the best interests of our affiliates.”
ABOUT BMI:
Celebrating over 76 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in nearly 12 million musical works created and owned by more than 750,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit http://www.bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page.
CONTACTS:
Jodie Thomas, BMI
212.220.3142
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