Radio stations around the country are receiving contracts directly from GMR that they have until January 31st to sign. The Radio Music Licensing Committee has been fighting with Irving Azoff’s GMR for five years over performing rights for artists on the GMR roster.
As the litigation continued radio stations had been offered short-term deals with GMR so they could continue airing artists such as Drake, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, the Eagles, and Smokey Robinson.
The GMR contracts are for 4 years with the possibility to extend another 3 years.
The RMLC and GMR have reached a conditional settlement agreement which would end the lawsuits. Both GMR’s and RMLC’s Boards of Directors have voted to approve the conditional settlement, which requires GMR to offer commercial radio stations a negotiated, long-term license agreement that begins on April 1, 2022.
Here’s the catch: The settlement is “conditional” because it will be finalized only if a sufficient percentage of radio stations opt into the settlement by signing the form license agreement that RMLC and GMR negotiated. Rates will be different for each station or company.
The RMLC is strongly encouraging stations to consider the settlement offer because it will give them rate certainty.
If an insufficient percentage of radio stations accept the negotiated license with GMR, the settlement will not be finalized and the litigation will continue.
And, GMR has not made any commitment to offer any other license to radio stations after the current interim license expires on March 31, 2022. That means, if this settlement fails and the litigation continues, there is no guarantee GMR will make another license available to stations at all.
The deal sounds like the two wolves who invited the sheep to dinner.