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SESAC Faces Narrower Claim For Anti-Trust

By Ross Todd
April 02, 2014

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refused to throw out part of an antitrust class action brought by television station owners against SESAC, the music licensing organization that represents about 20,000 composers. Meredith Corp. v. SESAC LLC, 09 Civ. 9177. The ruling came just three months after a magistrate judge in Pennsylvania ruled that radio broadcasters are likely to prevail on similar claims against SESAC.

Like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), SESAC is a performing rights organization that serves as a clearinghouse for licensing copyrighted music on behalf of composers and musicians. Unlike its much larger competitors, SESAC is not subject to consent decrees with the U.S. Department of Justice. That means SESAC, unlike BMI and ASCAP, isn't forced into a “rate court” proceeding whenever it disagrees with licensees over fees. But that doesn't mean it's immune from private antitrust claims.

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