CEA, Other Groups Urge SESAC Abide by ASCAP, BMI Consent Decrees
CEA, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and eight other groups jointly urged the Department of Justice Monday to require the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) to abide by the same rules that the American Society of…
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Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) face in their existing consent decrees. “Without the protections of the consent decrees, licensees would be subject to individual negotiations with potentially hundreds of thousands of licensors, almost all of which possess significant market power over non-substitutable musical works,” the groups said in a letter to Justice. “This would harm all stakeholders involved, including not only consumers, but also the individual songwriters who benefit from the efficient and competitive marketplace that the consent decrees ensure.” The groups also urged Justice to maintain the current ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, saying any weakening in those rules would hurt consumers and artists. SESAC reached a settlement last month with the Radio Music License Committee to end nearly three years of antitrust litigation between the groups (see 1507240049).