SESAC settles dispute with radio broadcasters

US collection society SESAC has paid the Radio Music License Committee (RMLC) $3.5m to settle the antitrust lawsuit which dates back to October 2013. SESAC, which earlier this month acquired US mechanical rights society Harry Fox, says the payment to the commercial radio group includes no damages and simply reimburses RMLC’s legal expenses. The CMO said to the media that “the amount of reimbursed legal expenses is less than the cost SESAC would incur were it to litigate the case to conclusion”. Importantly, RLMC has agreed that SESAC is entitled to be compensated for the full value of works in its repertory, even if SESAC affiliates own less than 100% of the copyright interest.  John Josephson, Chairman and CEO, SESAC, Inc., said “With this settlement, we’ve secured commercial arbitration for the next 22 years as the basis for setting SESAC’s license fees for commercial radio stations represented by the RMLC.More on Music Business Worldwide.