LeAnn Rhimes, Pharrell Williams and Jon Bon Jovi will be keynote speakers next week at a Justice Department workshop on the future of the nearly 80-year-old consent decrees that have governed how works are licensed.
The virtual event on July 28 and 29 comes as the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division reviews the ASCAP and BMI decrees, a move that would have huge implications on songwriters, artists and publishers. The workshop will be open to the public.
The event also will include panels on an array of issues related to music licensing and industry competition. Makan Delrahim, chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, will deliver opening remarks, and others speaking include David Israelite, president and CEO, National Music Publishers’ Association; Michelle Lewis, Executive Director, Songwriters of North America; Elizabeth Matthews, CEO of ASCAP; Michael O’Neill, president and CEO of BMI; and Gordon Smith, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters.
The DOJ last 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 Delrahim has been reviewing consent decrees across all industries to gauge their continued effectiveness and relevance.
The full lineup of panels and participants is here.