The DOJ reviewed the consent decrees during the Obama administration, but concluded that “the current system has well served music creators and music users for decades and should remain intact.”
But the DOJ under current antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has been reviewing consent decrees across all industries to gauge their continued effectiveness and relevance. ASCAP favors a transition period to “enable an orderly transition to a free market.” The National Music Publishers Association, meanwhile, wants the decrees to be modified to allow copyright owners to selectively withdraw digital rights from ASCAP and BMI.
Last year, the Justice Department moved to lift the 72-year-old Paramount consent decrees, which has restricted movie distributors control of the exhibition pipeline. A federal judge