Irving Azoff’s Performance Rights Organization GMR has responded to a January 14 filing the NAB made to the United States District Court in California in the battle between GMR and The RMLC, which represents radio. The PRO was unimpressed.
The GMR filing claims NAB’s filing was not only late by 6 months, it was unhelpful, wrong, and doesn’t offer any new information.
NAB got involved when the DOJ sent a letter to the court slamming radio. The NAB said there was no reason DOJ should have gotten involved in the matter. And the NAB asked the court to dismiss GMR’s claims against the RMLC.
Irving Azoff’s GMR is similar to BMI and ASCAP, which radio already pays, and includes artists such as Drake, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, the Eagles, and Smokey Robinson. GMR says radio stations illegally collude with one another to suppress rates paid to songwriters and composers for the public performance of their work. While the court battle rages on, radio stations have to make their own short-term side deals with GMR if they want to play artists under the GMR umbrella.
In GMR’s recent filing, the PRO said the NAB seeks to inject its untimely, partisan, and erroneous views into this proceeding. The Court should not allow it. NAB merely parrots RMLC, effectively giving RMLC a sur-sur-reply—which is hardly surprising, given that over half a dozen of the same radio conglomerates run both organizations.”
With no resolution in sight, GMR and The RMLC are expected to go to court later this year.
Both the NAB and RMLC had no comment for this story.
More of our coverage on the story:
DOJ Slams Radio
NAB Jumps Into Fight
How Much is GMR Costing Radio One?
RRMLC Loses Philadelphia Case With GMR
Why GMR Targets Philadelphia Stations
