Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio LLC
- Katherine Failla
- 1:24-cv-06896
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio LLC: Judge Failla granted both parties’ conference motions and ordered a discovery conference.
BMI and Sirius XM are affected by the order because they must appear for a conference about their anticipated discovery motions; the order does not resolve the underlying discovery requests.
What happened
In Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio LLC, the parties disputed discovery in a proceeding about the fee for a performing-rights license. Sirius XM sought information about BMI’s YouTube license and BMI’s internal analyses of licensing negotiations with several digital music services.
BMI sought a protective-order conference, while Sirius XM sought a conference about its request to compel discovery. Sirius XM argued that the requested agreements, negotiation documents, and internal valuation materials could help evaluate comparable licensing rates. The opinion does not state BMI’s detailed arguments beyond noting that it objected to the requests, including on burden and proportionality grounds.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted both parties’ motions for a conference and ordered them to appear on October 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. The order did not decide whether BMI must produce the requested materials and directed the Clerk to terminate the pending motions at docket entries 44 and 46.
The detailed version
- Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio LLC · No. 1:24-cv-06896
- Katherine Failla
- Sept. 17, 2025
Background
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is the petitioner, and Sirius XM Radio LLC is the respondent. The parties were disputing discovery in a proceeding concerning the appropriate fee for a performing-rights license. Sirius XM argued that comparable licensing agreements could serve as benchmarks for determining a reasonable rate.
Discovery Dispute
Sirius XM requested documents concerning BMI’s licensing agreement or agreements with YouTube, including the agreements and communications about their negotiation. Sirius XM also requested BMI’s internal valuation documents, analyses, and communications concerning licensing negotiations with Amazon, Apple, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube.
Sirius XM stated that it had narrowed its requests to five digital music services. According to the letter, BMI agreed to produce agreements and external negotiation communications involving Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and Pandora, but refused to produce materials concerning YouTube. BMI also refused to produce the requested internal valuation materials and related communications. Sirius XM argued that these materials were relevant to evaluating comparable licenses and to questioning BMI’s witnesses about the rates and terms BMI accepted.
Court’s Action
The court reviewed BMI’s letter motion seeking a conference about a protective order, Sirius XM’s opposition, and Sirius XM’s letter motion seeking a conference about a motion to compel. Judge Failla granted both parties’ motions for a conference.
The court ordered the parties to appear for a conference about their anticipated motions on October 14, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom 618 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse in New York, New York. The order directed the Clerk to terminate the pending motions at docket entries 44 and 46. It did not rule on the requested protective order or on whether BMI must produce the disputed discovery.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.