Radio Music License Committee v. American Society of Composers
Radio Music License Committee, Inc. v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- John Cronan
- 1:22-cv-05023
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Radio Music License Committee v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Judge Cronan granted GMR’s request to seal two transcript references revealing confidential licensing terms.
Global Music Rights, LLC, whose requested transcript redactions were approved; the Radio Music License Committee and Broadcast Music, Inc., whose positions were not prejudiced according to the request.
What happened
Radio Music License Committee, Inc. v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers concerns a request by non-party Global Music Rights, LLC to seal limited portions of a January 2, 2025 hearing transcript. Judge Cronan is identified in the case information.
GMR asked the court to seal two references made by Broadcast Music, Inc.’s lawyer to terms in GMR’s licenses with specific radio station groups. GMR said those terms were not public, remained in some current licenses, and could cause competitive harm if disclosed. The parties identified in the request did not object.
Judge Cronan granted the application. The court found that the proposed redactions were narrowly tailored to protect confidential business information and ordered the redacted transcript filed publicly while keeping the unredacted version under seal.
The detailed version
- Radio Music License Committee v. American Society of Composers · No. 1:22-cv-05023
- John Cronan
- Jan. 21, 2025
Background
Non-party Global Music Rights, LLC (GMR) asked the court to seal limited portions of the transcript from a January 2, 2025 hearing. GMR sought to redact two references made by counsel for Broadcast Music, Inc. to terms contained in GMR’s individual licenses with specific radio station groups.
GMR represented that the terms were not publicly known and were competitively sensitive, particularly because some remained in effect in current licenses. It argued that disclosure could reveal commercially sensitive information to competitors and other industry participants involved in negotiations with GMR. The Radio Music License Committee and BMI did not object, and GMR stated that both already knew the information it sought to redact.
Court’s reasoning
The court recognized the general presumption that judicial documents are publicly accessible but explained that this presumption must be balanced against competing considerations, including privacy interests and the potential injury from disclosure. The court accepted GMR’s explanation that the proposed redactions were narrowly tailored to protect confidential business information.
Ruling
The court granted GMR’s application. It directed the Clerk of Court to file the redacted version of the January 2, 2025 hearing transcript as a separate docket entry and to maintain the unredacted version under seal. Judge John Cronan is identified in the supplied case information.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.