Overview
The decision, dated yesterday, begins as follows:
Pandora Media, Inc. (“Pandora”) provides internet radio services. In 2010, Pandora sought a blanket, through to the audience, license from the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (“ASCAP”) for a five year period beginning January 1, 2011. Through this motion for summary judgment, Pandora argues that the antitrust consent decree under which ASCAP operates requires ASCAP to license Pandora to perform for five years all of the works in the ASCAP repertory as of January 1, 2011, even though certain music publishers beginning in January 2013 have purported to withdraw from ASCAP the right to license their compositions to “New Media” services such as Pandora. Because the language of the consent decree unambiguously requires ASCAP to provide Pandora with a license to perform all of the works in its repertory, and because ASCAP retains the works of “withdrawing” publishers in its repertory even if it purports to lack the right to license them to a subclass of New Media entities, Pandora’s motion for summary judgment is granted.
