Market Power and Copyright: The ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees

In 2016 — and again in 2019 — the Department of Justice declined to rescind or modify two of its longest-standing consent decrees. The decrees at issue govern the conduct of two music licensing groups: the American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers (“ASCAP”) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”). The decrees date back to 1941 and, though they are periodically updated, have nevertheless remained standing through eight decades, fifteen Presidential administrations, numerous re