Christian P. Pewitt Blogs: "Massive Victory" For Songwriters, Publishers As Court Rules To Allow Fractional Licensing

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

"Massive Victory" For Songwriters, Publishers As Court Rules To Allow Fractional Licensing

In a major victory for BMI and all songwriters and publishers, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the U.S. Department of Justice which had sought to end the practice of fractional music licensing.

The U.S. Second Circuit agreed with Judge Louis L. Stanton’s September 16, 2016 decision that the BMI consent decree allows for the practice of fractional licensing.

“This is a massive victory for songwriters, composers, music publishers and the entire industry<" said Mike O’Neill, President and CEO of BMI in a statement."We have said from the very beginning that BMI’s consent decree allowed for fractional licensing, and we are incredibly gratified that Judge Stanton and the Second Circuit agreed with our position.

"We thank all the songwriters, composers, publishers and organizations who supported us throughout this process, which unfortunately, has been a nearly two-year distraction from our original intent which was to update our outdated consent decree and modernize music licensing," he continued. "We look forward to our continued efforts to protect and grow the value of music.”