The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has reached a settlement with the Television Music License Committee (TMLC) over licensing fees paid by local TV stations to publicly perform ASCAP's songs.
Though the financial aspects of the agreement were not revealed by the music publishing giant, ASCAP did say that the agreement covers a seven-year period, stretching retroactively from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2016. The agreement also provides an overall blanket license that includes primary broadcasts, digital multicasts, Internet websites, and emerging wireless, mobile, and other digital platforms.
The agreement also provides electronic access to license documents on both the TMLC and ASCAP websites for TMLC's more than 1,200 local television stations.
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Vincent Candilora, ASCAP's EVP of licensing, said that the agreement "reflects increases in ASCAP’s share of local television stations’ performances of music in recent years and the importance of music to the television viewing experience.”
TMLC chair Chuck Sennet added that the settlement is appropriate for "the environment local broadcasters face in the 21st Century: intense competition from cable, the Internet and other media, reduced audiences, and use of both broadcast and new media to reach our viewers with the news, information and entertainment programming they expect from us."