Broadcasters Sue BMI For Expanded Direct Licensing, Lower License Fees and Access to Cue Sheets

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The owners of approximately 1,200 local television stations, citing a “massive reduction” in audience size, have sued performing rights society BMI in rate court, asking the Court to set “reasonable fees and terms” for the use of BMI music in television programming including terrestrial and digital platforms, grant broadcasters access to cue sheets, and add a provision to the blanket license that essentially creates a credit for each performance of a musical work that is directly licensed with a composer or publisher. The terms of the new blanket license credit, if approved, are likely to be decided by a judge in a case brought by BMI against DMX, a commercial background music company….