New Broadcast Licensing Deals Provide Record $2.7 Billion for ASCAP Members

Negotiations Yield Largest Single Licensing Deal in Radio History

In agreements with the Radio and Local Television industries, ASCAP has negotiated over $2.7 Billion in Licensing Fees for its members. ASCAP and the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC), representing most of the nearly 12,000 commercial radio stations in the U.S., have announced a new agreement totaling in excess of 1.7 Billion dollars. This is the largest single licensing deal in the history of American radio. The settlement, which was approved by Federal District Court Judge William C. Conner on October 15, 2004, provides stations with the right to perform ASCAP music over the air and also as part of a simultaneous stream of their over-the-air signals on their Internet web sites. It also provides fee certainty to both the radio industry and ASCAP's members. ASCAP's repertory, the largest in the world, contains more than 7.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre, in addition to works in the repertories of over 60 affiliated foreign performing rights organizations.

The agreement finalizes license fees for the period 2001-2003 and establishes new ASCAP licenses for the period 2004-2009. The negotiated settlement replaces revenue-based license fees with a set payment schedule for the stations that will provide significant guaranteed income to ASCAP composers, songwriters and music publishers. Both sides will also benefit from a simplified and streamlined administration process.

"Over $1.7 Billion dollars, fixed through 2009, indicates the true economic value of our members' music to the radio industry," said ASCAP's SVP, Director of Licensing Vincent Candilora. "We were pleased to have reached an agreement that establishes significant income increases for our members that they can count on well into the future, and provides the radio industry with the planning information and simplified administration it views as critical for business success. Effective negotiation avoided the heavy cost of litigation for both sides and resulted in an agreement which can only serve to strengthen the longstanding partnership between America's leading creators of music and their most valuable customers."

ASCAP and Local Television Industry Reach Long-Term Agreement

ASCAP and the Television Music License Committee (TMLC), representing over 1,200 local television stations, have also announced a long-term agreement covering the stations' performance of ASCAP music in their analog and digital broadcast signals, as well as station websites.

The unprecedented agreement covers an 11-year period, retroactive from April 1998 to December 31, 2009, providing substantial royalties to ASCAP's songwriters, composers and music publishers.

Under the new agreement, industry-wide blanket license fees for local TV stations for the period ending November 30, 2004 will remain at the interim levels of $98.1 million at which the stations have been paying since April 1998. Effective December 1, 2004, the industry blanket fee will be at an annual rate of $85 million. The fee will increase in 2006 and each year thereafter based on the prior year's increase in the Consumer Price Index. Either side may "opt-out" of the agreement at the end of 2008. ASCAP will continue to offer a per program license at a rate that reflects a station's actual music use.

Whether licensed on a blanket or per program basis, a station's license fee will cover use of ASCAP music in both its analog and digital transmissions, as well as streaming of ASCAP music in local news programming and other promotional uses transmitted via its website.

The agreement settled litigation, pending since 1998, which would have set ASCAP fees for the local television industry. The case was scheduled for trial in late September. Under an antitrust consent decree between ASCAP and the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. District Court in New York sets a reasonable fee for any user of ASCAP music if the parties are unable to agree on fees.

Charles Sennet, chairman of TMLC. said "The agreement reflects ASCAP's important position in the marketplace as well as the competitive environment in which we as broadcasters operate. It will cover local stations' digital signals, including multicasting, as we make the transition from analog to digital broadcasting. It also will cover the use of ASCAP music on stations' promotional websites."

ASCAP's SVP of Licensing, Vincent Candilora, said, "This agreement reflects the use of ASCAP music by local television stations over an 11 year period. Significant value for ASCAP members was accomplished as a result of true negotiation between the parties. And we are pleased that both sides were able to avoid the time and expense of trial."