BMI and RMLC set interim radio licensing rate

BMI and the Radio Music License Committee have set an interim licensing rate that will apply while the two parties continue negotiating a final rate. Judge Louis Stanton, who presides over BMI’s Federal Rate Court in the Southern District of New York, set 1.7% of radio revenue as the interim rate.

The RMLC initially proposed 1.4% of radio revenue as the rate, but BMI argued that was based on “incomplete and incorrect information regarding BMI’s share of radio performance.” If the companies are unable to agree on a final rate, they will return to the rate court to settle on the amount.

The RMLC has already secured a five-year agreement with ASCAP, the other main performing rights organization in the U.S., for its radio licensing fee.