NRB Recap
Harv Hendrickson and I had a very productive week at the NRB Convention last month. We were able to connect face-to-face with many of you who were there. We also appreciate the nice turnout at our “late-night business meeting” where we provided an overview of our plans for the upcoming Webcaster V proceeding and fielded some very good questions in the Q&A session and fellowship time after the meeting. You will be hearing much more about the “Web V” proceeding in the months to come. Your Committee is preparing for battle and we need your support – both financially and by keeping up to date with our reports as they are delivered.
Spring Objectives
Aside from “Web V”, Your Committee remains busy on many other fronts, including:
- GMR: Negotiations continue with Global Music Rights (GMR) for a new commercial broadcast license (the main thrust of these discussions concern commercial broadcasters, but we will be negotiating the streaming needs of non-commercial broadcasters as we proceed with GMR in the weeks to come). Note that you may be contacted directly by GMR concerning the extension of an interim license for broadcasters represented by the RMLC. You need not approve this extension or pay GMR for the interim license as long as you are represented by this committee (the NRBMLC) in our discussions with GMR. Please let us know if you have any questions about whether your group is part of the NRBMLC-represented group.
- SESAC: We are working with the RMLC to ensure that any commercial stations represented by the RMLC in the recent arbitration with SESAC are compliant in filing necessary authorization documents for the new license period beginning in 2019 and also in signing new license agreements and reporting revenue for 2016 and 2017.
- ASCAP: In April, we will begin a new license dialog with ASCAP that is focused mainly on commercial broadcaster needs for the license period commencing in 2019. These discussions will also include ancillary rights such as audio-visual licenses. We will inform you on our progress as we get into these discussions later this spring.
We are honored to serve you when it comes to these complex licensing needs. If you have any questions about your company/stations licenses or how they fit into the grander scheme of things, please do not hesitate to contact me. Enjoy the Spring Season!
Sincerely,
Scott R. Hunter
Executive Director
4880 Santa Rosa Road, Camarillo, CA 93012
(805) 482-7290 • www.nrbmlc.com