Click Here to watch Senator Lee's opening remarks
WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Mike Lee held his first hearing as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, titled “How Much For a Song?: The Antitrust Decrees that Govern the Market for Music.” The purpose of the hearing was to evaluate the state of competition in the market for music licenses and to provide an open, public forum for music industry actors to discuss how we can ensure a vibrant, healthy market in which the prices for music remain competitive for consumers.
“The primary goal of this Subcommittee is to ensure that consumers are protected from those who would abuse the marketplace,” Sen. Lee said. “Today, we’re focusing on consumers of music, especially the tens of millions of Americans who enjoy their music online using streaming services. The advent of streaming technology has introduced profound changes to the music industry, many of which have greatly benefitted consumers. This hearing will examine some of those changes and evaluate how our complex system of antitrust laws and regulations can be appropriately adapted to the changing landscape of the music industry so that the price of music continues to be competitive, while appropriately valuing the copyrights at issue.”
At the hearing, the Subcommittee will hear testimony from several industry professionals, including Mike Dowdle, the Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Bonneville International; Beth Matthews, CEO and General Counsel of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); Chris Harrison, the Vice President of Business Affairs for Pandora Media, Inc.; Lee Thomas Miller, a songwriter with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI); Matt Pincus, Founder and CEO of SONGS Music Publishing; and Jodie Griffin, Senior Staff Attorney for Public Knowledge.
Click here to read Sen. Lee’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery.
