Music-industry finance firm Sound Royalties is praising the ruling of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, which will allow for the continued and rightful practice of fractional licensing.
The court ruled against the U.S. Department of Justice’s appeal from earlier this year, and upheld a September 2016 ruling from the U.S. Southern District of New York, which determined that consent decrees don’t require full-works or 100 percent licensing and supported fractional licensing, which has been an industry standard practice for decades.
Sound Royalties, which continually advocates for the rights of songwriters and other music professionals, issued the following statement today in response to the news:
“This week’s ruling is an important step in the right direction for songwriters,” said Alex Heiche, the CEO and Founder of Sound Royalties. “Full-works or 100 percent licensing could have had serious, negative repercussions on songwriters, including driving down the purported value of their music and deterring the creative collaboration that generates the songs we all love.”
“Just like every other owner of an asset, songwriters should have the right to decide if they want to license their works and at what price. If we want the creation of new music to continue, then we must ensure that the creators behind these songs are fairly compensated for their work.”
