RMLC Not Having GMR ‘Misstatements’
Just when we thought this little garden party attended by the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC) and Irving Azoff‘s Global Music Rights (GMR) was going so well, things took a weird turn yesterday. You may recall that a nine-month interim agreement had been struck between the two organizations on Christmas Eve. However, yesterday, RMLC Chairman Ed Christian fired off “an urgent message” to broadcasters, stating, “The RMLC is receiving troubling reports from a number of station operators who have received interim fee license quotes from Global Music Rights (GMR). In its message conveying this offering, GMR makes at least two important misstatements: First, GMR incorrectly asserts that the interim license fee was ‘negotiated’ with the RMLC. GMR refused to negotiate the price it will charge stations under the interim license, and we have not undertaken at this point any negotiations that would bind any stations. GMR insisted that any industry-wide interim license would need to afford GMR the possibility of securing industry payments totaling $2.5 million per month during the interim fee period (exclusive of licensee payments from any operators who had executed separate licenses with GMR). GMR mischaracterizes this arrangement as a negotiation with the RMLC. The RMLC characterizes it as a non-negotiable, take it or leave it proposition from GMR that entailed no negotiation whatsoever as to the level of interim fee. (The bolding was in the letter).
“Second, GMR incorrectly states that the quoted interim license fee was ‘calculated by the RMLC.’ The RMLC did not dictate and, indeed, has never seen GMR’s final interim fee calculations, nor would the RMLC ever entertain any involvement whatsoever in GMR’s final fee calculations.”
In conclusion, Christian writes (again in bold), “The RMLC believes that these GMR representations, as to the level of RMLC involvement with their interim license offering, border on bad faith at the very least and are intended to lend an RMLC stamp of approval to the process. To be clear, the RMLC does not recommend nor disparage GMR’s interim license offering. Whether or not to pursue the offering (or any other license terms) is an individual choice for each operator to make.” Concerned broadcasters are invited to contact the RMLC at info@radiomlc.org.
