Review of music licensing rates
Broadcast Music v. North American Concert Promoters Association
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Broadcast Music, Inc. says the Second Circuit wrongly reviewed a lower court’s estimate of fair payment for live concert music without deferring to the trial judge’s fact-based findings.
- What's at stake
- The dispute over fair payment for live concert music remains unresolved for BMI and the North American Concert Promoters Association.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
BMI has asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, but the Court has not agreed to review it.
BMI says the Second Circuit reviewed the trial judge’s estimate of fair payment for live concert music without deferring to the judge’s fact-based findings.
The underlying dispute concerns the rate paid to songwriters, composers and publishers for public performances of music at live concerts.
Question presented
Whether a district court’s fair-market-value determination and its component parts, such as the selection of benchmark agreements, should be reviewed de novo or for clear error.
What happens next
BMI’s petition was distributed for the Court’s Sept. 28, 2026, conference. That distribution is not a grant of review or a promised decision date, and no argument is scheduled.
Documents
Docket activity
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AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
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Case data updated: documents, description, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, proceeding_type
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.