We are a non-profit trade association that helps all full-power, commercial television stations in the United States and its territories deal with the three U.S. performing rights organizations, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (the PROs). We negotiate the music performing rights licenses that stations sign with the PROs and design and administer the method of allocating industry-wide fees among all of the stations licensed by these organizations (the vast majority of local television stations), subject to agreement of the PRO or court approval. After stations sign their license agreements, we try to help resolve problems between stations and the PROs when they arise. We are the stations’ advocate.  When negotiation with a PRO is unsuccessful, we fund and manage legal proceedings on behalf of the local television industry, such as copyright “rate court” proceedings and private antitrust litigation.

Through voluntary station contributions.

The Committee is made up of volunteers from television stations and group broadcasters throughout the country (representatives of large and small market stations, affiliates and independents). The names of our Committee members can be found on our website at www.tvmlc.com.   There are three paid staff employees working out of Washington, DC and California.

It used to be that a main function of a music publisher was to publish the sheet music of its members. In that way they were helping to promote their music. Now, though they still do that, they do much more. They own or administer the copyrights to their music (i.e., you would go to them for a synchronization, master use, or even a public performance license). They promote their music (e.g., trying to get radio stations to play music in their catalog) and protect composers (e.g., dealing with the PROs on their behalf).

One of the rights the copyright law grants to composers is the right to collect royalties for public performances of the music they create. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC license performance rights. For a television station, the public performance right means the right to broadcast music over the air in programming as well as in commercials and promotional and public service announcements. For a restaurant, the public performance right means the right to play music in the restaurant for the diners to hear. For a gym, it can mean the right to play music in an aerobics classes. In all of these instances, music is being performed for public consumption. For further information see the Copyright Basics page on our website at www.tvmlc.com

Yes and no. If you’re an ABC, CBS, NBC or Univision affiliate, your network has a network license with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC but that license only covers performances of music contained in the network shows. As one of those affiliates you still have plenty of programming that is not “network” and your licenses with the PROs cover performances of music in your “non-network” programming and announcements. Other networks, such as Fox, CW, MyNet, Cozi TV or TBN, do not have network licenses from the PROs. For affiliates of these networks and for other independents, your licenses with the PROs cover all of your programming (even the network shows).

These PROs represent music composers and publishers by licensing and collecting royalties from businesses that publicly perform, i.e., broadcast or play, the composers’ and publishers’ music. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC collect information about what music is being performed so they can pay composers and publishers some of the money that was paid to them by the businesses that performed their music. A composer can only be a member of one PRO at a time, but music publishers can have affiliates of two or all three PROs.
In short, the relationship is like this:

PRO licenses a business

⇓

the business plays music and the business pays PRO

⇓

PRO pays the composer/publisher for the music
that was played by the business

U.S. copyright law entitles the owners of copyrights in musical compositions to control the public performance of their copyrighted music.  When television stations broadcast programs containing copyrighted music, they are making public performances of the compositions and, subject to few exceptions, need a performing rights license. Producers of television programs and commercials usually do not pay for the music performance rights that stations need. Since most television programs and commercials contain copyrighted music from one or more of the PROs’ repertories, having a license with all three PROs provides protection from copyright infringement risks. If your station could license all of the music contained in its broadcasts directly from the copyright owners or through the suppliers of the programming and commercials, you would not need PRO licenses, but we are not aware of any station that attempts to license 100% of its music directly.

When you contract with syndicators for their shows, they give you all of the rights needed to air the shows except for this one right. Why? Historically, composers have found it more profitable to license these rights through the PROs than to negotiate prices directly with producers. In addition, many producers benefit from the system insofar as they control the music publishing rights and receive royalty distributions from the PROs. Most music libraries are members of ASCAP, BMI and/or SESAC so that when you contract with them for their music, they are hoping to get money from you as well as their PRO. They are generally only granting you the synchronization rights (i.e., the right to mix or synchronize their music with your video) unless you purchase the performance rights, as well.

Yes, if the music publisher is willing. The relationship between the PROs and their composers and publishers is a non-exclusive one. That means that the composers and publishers can license their performance rights directly to you. They don’t have to do this but they can. You just have to make sure to ask for these rights and be prepared to pay for them.

A blanket license authorizes the licensee’s use of all of the works in the PRO’s repertory by the licensee during the license period with no record keeping required.  A blanket license protects you against claims of copyright infringement by any of the PRO’s affiliated publishers or composers for your performances of the music in the PRO’s repertory. Historically, blanket license fees have been pre-determined, there has been no fee credit or “carve-out” to reflect any licenses you have obtained directly from publishers or composers or through program suppliers, and requirements to keep records and report your performances of music to the PRO have been minimal.  In recent years, courts have determined that ASCAP and BMI are required to offer to music users blanket licenses with fees that reflect the user’s direct licensing activity.  Currently ASCAP offers television broadcasters an alternative blanket license (ABL) from which many stations benefit.  BMI offers an AFBL (adjustable fee blanket license) but it has proven less beneficial to our broadcasters.

A per program license gives a station the same copyright infringement protection they get from the blanket license, but the way the fees are calculated and the obligations to keep records of music use are different. Under a per program license, you pay a set fee for commercials and other “incidental and ambient” uses of music, but then only pay for programs that have the individual PRO’s music in it.  Under a per program license, a station files detailed monthly reports with the PRO showing what programs it aired that month and which programs contained music from the PRO. If you “clear” (i.e., remove or get the rights directly from composers or publishers or through the supplier) enough of a PRO’s music from your programs, you should expect to pay lower total fees under a per program license than under a traditional blanket license.

If you’re on a per program license or ABL/AFBL with a PRO, then licensing the performance rights to music in some of your shows will enable you to reduce the fees paid to the PRO.   In essence, for cleared music, you’re bypassing payment to the PRO by paying the composer directly or through his agent enabling the publisher to receive money faster than they would from their PRO.

Industry-wide fees for ASCAP, BMI and SESAC are negotiated by the Committee (or, if the parties are unable to agree, by a federal judge acting as a copyright “rate court” for ASCAP and BMI and an arbitration panel for SESAC).  The industry-wide fees then need to be allocated to individual stations.  The Committee designs the method for allocating industry-wide fees for ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (determined either through agreement with each of them or by the rate court) and then performs the calculation of fees. This methodology, in short, takes the industry-wide fee and allocates money to each market based on Nielsen DMA size. Within each market the money is then divided up among the stations based on a 3-year average of ratings. Each year a new allocation is calculated, the three oldest set of ratings books are dropped and the three newest set of ratings books are added (the July books are not used).  If either your market size or your share of the audience within your market increases, your fees could increase.

ASCAP

The most recent license agreement with ASCAP expired December 31, 2016.  We are currently operating under an interim license with ASCAP while we negotiate the next license.  The most recent license ran from January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2016 and the industry feeS were as follows:

2010: $93,311,155
2011:  94,377,233
2012-2014: $91,500,000
2015-2016:  $92,000,000

The ASCAP fees for 2016 continue under the interim license.

BMI

The current license agreements with BMI began January 1, 2005 and end December 31, 2017.  Prior to that date both parties begin negotiation of new licenses for the industry.  The period January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2012 was resolved through litigation and the fees paid during that time were final as of the finalization of the licenses.  For the period January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2017 the industry fees for each calendar year was $78,650,000.

SESAC

On November 4, 2009 an antitrust class action lawsuit was filed by a group of broadcasters against SESAC claiming that SESAC had illegally overcharged stations for many years beginning in 2006. TVMLC provided financial support for that suit. The suit was settled at the end 2014 resulting in a refund to our stations totaling $42,500,000 to reimburse them for previous overpayments to SESAC.

For 2016-2035, the Committee and SESAC will negotiate successive four-year blanket and per program “through to the viewer” performance licenses. If the parties cannot reach agreement, the license terms and fees will be resolved by arbitration. The licenses will cover stations’ primary channels, multicast channels, website and other means of digital distribution.

The SESAC blanket and per program licenses that run from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2019  have recently been finalized and have the following industry fees:

2016: $25,000,000 (plus a $400,000 administrative fee for per program stations)
2017: $30,000,000 (plus a $500,000 administrative fee for per program stations)
2018: $34,000,000 (plus a $500,000 administrative fee for per program stations)
2019: $36,000,000 (plus a $500,000 administrative fee for per program stations)

Because the recently negotiated 2016 fee is lower than that paid by the industry in an interim license, SESAC will provide a refund to the stations of $2.3M in the aggregate in proportion to their interim fee.

There are two ways to estimate your music performance license fees:

1 – Look at your ratings and market size.  If they increased the past year, then your fees will increase and if they decreased, then your fees will decrease.

2 – Call us and we will help you with your budgeting.

The licenses we have with the PROs, whether or interim or final, authorize stations to use music in the local programming streamed on your website.

The digital signals of your primary channel and any multicast channels (other than those offered on a subscription/paid basis) are currently covered by your licenses with ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, whether interim or final.

Give us a call!!!