The DOJ Consent Decree Determination: What Does It Mean for Congress and Stakeholders?

Panelists: Danielle Aguirre (EVP and General Counsel, NMPA); U.S. Representative Doug Collins (R-GA); Tara Good (Director of Operations, WineAmerica); Clara Kim (EVP and General Counsel, ASCAP); Katie Peters (Director, Government Relations, Pandora). In 2014, the nation’s largest performing rights organizations (PROs) for musical compositions, ASCAP and BMI, asked the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to review their governing consent decrees, with a request that they be modified to give copyright owners the choice to license their works to digital services directly in the marketplace, known as a “partial withdrawal” of rights. On August 4, 2016, DOJ issued its review. The government decided not to modify the consent decrees as the PROs requested, stating it would not promote competition, and in addition, declared that the consent decrees do not allow ASCAP and BMI’s current practice  of offering “fractional” licenses that convey only rights to the shares of a work that each PRO owns. Soon thereafter, the PROs announced they would seek judicial and legislative relief from DOJ’s determination. This panel examined the effect on the stakeholders of the DOJ review and steps Congress may consider in response.

 

Presented by Mondo.NYC, an annual business summit, festival and digital platform bringing together music, technology and innovation in the most vibrant city in the world. Mondo launches September 14-18, 2016 in New York City with a business summit hosted at New York University and live music showcases presented at venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. At Mondo.NYC, music fans, artists, tech pioneers and entertainment professionals converge to celebrate music, technology and the entertainment industry.

 

Please Vote For Your Board of Directors

Last week we opened the 2016 WineAmerica Board of Directors election. If you are a winery member you received an electronic ballot for your specific membership region. We will be resending the ballots again between now and the close of the election on October 7. The Board of Directors will then certify the election at the next WineAmerica Board Meeting in Oregon this November.

 

Register for the Fall Meeting

WineAmerica is heading to the scenic Willamette Valley this November for our annual Fall Board of Directors and Membership Meeting. Every year visit a different wine region to review our successes for the year and look to the future of the organization. The Fall Meeting is an excellent time for WineAmerica to take our message to a specific region, and for the Board, association members and winery members to come together. The dates for the meeting are November 2-3 and will be held at the Alison Resort and Spa. Agenda and registration information can be found here: WineAmerica 2016 Fall Membership Meeting.

 

 

Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs at mkaiser@wineamerica.org