Sony/ATV Music Could Withraw Licensing Rights

Sony/ATV Music Publishing will explore withdrawing all of its licensing rights from ASCAP and BMI if federal regulators don't allow for the partial withdrawal of its digital rights from the nation's largest performance rights organizations, according to The Tennessean.

In a letter to its songwriters, the publishing giant outlined steps it is taking to withdraw just its digital rights from ASCAP and BMI so that it can strike more favorable licensing deals with companies like Pandora, which offer streaming access to music.

Last year, Sony/ATV tried to withdraw some of its digital performance rights from ASCAP and BMI, but federal judges ruled that Sony/ATV and all publishers must continue all-or-nothing licensing relationships with the performance rights organizations.

Sony/ATV plans to appeal those federal court rulings in order to allow for partial withdrawal of rights. The company also is working with the Department of Justice to revise the consent decrees that govern how BMI and ASCAP operate.

If both of those options fail, then Sony/ATV will consider withdrawing all of its rights, according to last week's letter.

"It is our hope that the DOJ and appeals process will recognize the benefits and fairness produced by partial withdrawal of performance rights," Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier wrote in his July 9 letter. "This would enable us to remove only those rights that we believe we can more efficiently license ourselves (e.g. digital), and keep other rights with ASCP, BMI or others where collective licensing (e.g. for bars, restaurants and venues) makes sense for the writers, publishers and licensees.

"That being said, because the DOJ and legal process is not fully within our control, we may have no alternative but to take all of our rights out of ASCAP and BMI."

For decades, ASCAP and BMI have managed public performance rights for publishing companies by collecting royalty payments and paying songwriters after a song is played on the radio or in a bar. But as technology revolutionized how consumers listen to music, publishing companies have argued that new media companies such as Pandora don't pay fair rates to songwriters and publishers.

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