Let the Justice Department know where Music Creators stand on Fractional Licensing

NOV 2015

Let the Justice Department know where Music Creators stand on Fractional Licensing To Our Valued Members, As you may have heard, the Department of Justice is currently reviewing the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees and is considering a change that could greatly impact the value of the royalties you receive, your ability to choose creative collaborators and the payment process you have come to rely upon as an ASCAP songwriter or publisher. This modification to the consent decree would disrupt the long-standing practice of PROs licensing only the share of co-written works we represent, requiring instead that ASCAP and BMI license all songs in our respective repertoires on a 100% basis, regardless of the percentage of the song our affiliated writers or publishers actually own or control. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW This change has the potential to negatively affect music creators both creatively and financially. In a 100% licensing world, songwriters who collaborate with co-writers who are not members of ASCAP will have no way of ensuring they receive the performance royalties they are due on a timely basis. If a music user decides to license a songwriter’s co-written song from a PRO other than ASCAP, that songwriter would be subject to the outside PRO’s overhead rate and payment methodology. Music creators may experience delays in payment, or receive no payments at all. ACT NOW TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS You chose ASCAP for a reason. If you want to protect your freedom to collaborate with any songwriter of your choice, while maintaining the certainty that you will be compensated fairly by ASCAP for your share of your creative work, join us in sending the DOJ a clear message before they issue their final decision: do not require 100% licensing. Take action now by clicking the link below to add your name to the list of songwriters, composers and publishers opposed to the DOJ’s interpretation of ASCAP’s consent decree. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Please note: The comments you provide to the DOJ will be posted publicly on their website at justice.gov. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 20th.

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