ASCAP Settles DOJ Action Concerning Exclusive Licensing Agreements

USA v. ASCAP, No. 41-1395 (S.D.N.Y. May 12, 2016) (Doc. 749).

The Dep't of Justice and ASCAP have settled a claim concerning approximately 150 ASCAP agreements that granted the performing rights organization exclusive licensing rights allegedly in violation of an earlier consent decree.  The settlement prohibits ASCAP form entering into any agreement under which a songwriter, composer, or music publisher grants ASCAP the exclusive right to license the right of public performance in musical works, and further limits the licensing activities of board members and music publishers.  Further, ASCAP agreed to pay $1.75 million.

Oversaturation of Festival Headliners

A while back, OTCS proposed a novel idea for the future: festival exclusivity.

Perhaps the future isn't so far off. As Rolling Stone notes:

Promoters postponed New Jersey’s Vineland Festival before even putting it on sale, and Coachella in late April was attended by 160,000 fans, according to reports, compared to 180,000 last year. Many of this summer’s major festivals have the same headliners — such as Jack Johnson at Coachella, Bonnaroo, All Points West and Outside Lands — and they may be losing their distinctiveness. “There’s always a saturation point for everything,” says Chuck Morris, the AEG Live promoter who is producing the July 19th-20th Mile High Music Festival in Denver, with Petty and DMB.

If and when you see such a clause, shoot us an e-mail.

Test Drive

When things go sour... a label rescinds its offer due to a single "peaking" and things go south.



Here, "Supafly" financed the artists Test Drive under a joint-venture agreement. However, the partners (defendants) tried to cut plaintiff-financier out of a major record deal by inking a side-deal. As a kicker, defendants allegedly never had an exclusive recording agreement with the artists, and therefore a likely breach of reps and warranties in the joint-venture agreement.

Supafly Entertainment, Inc. v. IM Music, Inc., No. 08-cv-60440-WJZ (S.D.Fla filed Mar. 27, 2008)

Festival Exclusivity?

With the announcement that the Radiohead-and-Jack-Johnson-combo are headlining TWO festivals this summer, is it possible that -- notwithstanding the geographic distance between San Francisco and Jersey City, NJ -- in the future the festival industry will begin including EXCLUSIVITY CLAUSES in their head-liner agreements?

While it may be true that festivals on complete opposite sides of the continent will attract different audiences, is something of the festival's aura (and uniqueness, at the least) lost by having the same act(s) headline multiple festivals? Does it harm ticket sales to either festival?

The situation is distinguishable from an event like Live Aid because here the events are not under the same banner and ostensibly have separate promotors and vendors.