Justice Department to require changes to music royalty collection

The Justice Department said on Thursday that it will not alter consent decrees that it originally reached with ASCAP and BMI in 1941 but would require the licensing organizations to change how they collect royalties, prompting a furious response. In the complicated world of music royalties, songwriters and publishers such as Sony/ATV hire ASCAP, BMI and other performance rights groups to license their songs to digital streaming services, radio and television stations, bars and other music users. For years, in cases where ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) or BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) did not represent all of the authors of a song, they would issue fractional licenses and presume that the licensee would ensure others were paid.