The Justice Department has officially launched its latest review of the 75-year-old consent decrees with The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), which collectively handle music licensing and fees for music on video and audio platforms .

The decrees circumscribe how they can license rights to public performances, but Justice, as it had earlier signaled, is reviewing those agreements to see if they should be maintained as is, terminated or modified (as the 1941 decrees have been before, ASCAP most recently in 2001 and BMI in 1994.

The decrees "require ASCAP and BMI to issue licenses covering all works in their repertory upon request from music users. If the parties are unable to agree on an appropriate price for a license, the decrees provide for a “rate court” proceeding in front of a U.S. district judge."

Antitrust chief called it the latest in a series of necessary reviews of the decrees. "It is important for the Division to reassess periodically whether these decrees continue to serve the American consumer and whether they should be changed to achieve greater efficiency and enhance competition in light of innovations in the industry," he said.

The ASCAP decree requires it to “grant to any music user making a written request therefor a non-exclusive license to perform all of the works in the ASCAP repertory...." The BMI decree requires that BMI licenses provide access to those compositions, the right of public performance of which [BMI] has or hereafter shall have the right to license or sublicense.” The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015 ruled, in the Pandora decision that ASCAP is “required to license its entire repertory to all eligible users.”

President Donald Trump signaled last October, when signing the Hatch-Goodlatte Music Modernization Act into law (it updated the music licensing framework for the digital age and provided congressional oversight of the Justice consent decree review, that if the DOJ review leads to a decision to eliminate them, he would try to provide notice to Congress, but was giving no guarantees, depending on the circumstances.

The bill also provided for congressional overnight of the Justice Department review of the long-standing consent decrees. Graham wants to do some of that overseeing.

Delrahim had signaled a year ago that his division was taking a fresh look at the decrees, and with a fairly critical eye, at the decrees. Justice also reviewed the decrees in 2015, under a previous Administration, but left them in place.

One of the key issues is whether music licensing organizations can collect fees for fractional rights under blanket licenses. The court concluded that the decrees neither required full licensing of musical works nor prevented fractional licensing. Fractional licenses are works with multiple authors using different licensing organizations, so, say, BMI has some fraction, rather than all, of the rights.

Justice is seeking outside stakeholder input as part of the review. That public comment period closes July 10.

ASCAP and BMI have already proposed a modification to interim, time-limited consent decrees which it noted in commenting on the launch of the review Wednesday: “The DOJ’s long-anticipated review of the BMI and ASCAP consent decrees and call for public comment represent an opportunity to do what BMI has been advocating for years – modernize music licensing," it said. "BMI and ASCAP have already issued an open letter in which we share a proposed solution for the industry that will benefit music creators and licensees alike. We look forward to working with the DOJ, licensees and our other music partners to help ensure a smooth process that safeguards a vibrant future for music.”

Comcast kicked off its first ever X1 Music Week on Monday, offering free access to subscription-based music service Pandora Premium from Oct 8-14 to X1 customers.

From Oct. 8 – 14, Xfinity X1 customers can enjoy a free week of streaming Pandora Premium on X1 on their TV with their voice remote. Pandora Premium is Pandora’s on-demand subscription option, which offers listeners the ability to search and play any song or album; create playlists — on their own or powered by Pandora; download music for offline listening; enjoy unlimited skips and replays, higher quality audio, and ad-free listening.

In addition to Pandora Premium, X1 customers will also have free access to music-themed online subscription video on demand services during the week of Oct. 8-14, including:

Stingray Qello, the world's largest collection of on demand full-length performances, concert films, and music documentaries featuring artists such as Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, John Legend, The Rolling Stones, and more

Stingray DJAZZ, a selection of jazz concerts, performances, rare documentaries, intimate portraits, behind-the-scene footage, and exclusive interviews

Stingray Classica, a catalog of premieres, productions, and documentaries dedicated to classical music, opera, and ballet

zone·tv’s Stephen’s Drum Shed, lessons from legendary drum teacher, Stephen Taylor whose unique teaching style can help drummers of all skill levels be their best

zone·tv’s Pro Guitar Lessons TV, professional guitar lessons from some of the top instructors as seen in Guitar World, Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines

X1 customers can say “Show me music,” into their voice remote to access all of the above services, along with more music and audio offerings currently available on the platform including iHeartRadio, NPR One, Music Choice, and Stingray Music Videos. Customers can also enjoy playlists curated by Comcast’s editorial team that highlight throwback hits and one-hit wonders; trending albums that can be listened to from start to finish; a collection of “The Greatest Albums of All Time (So Far);” full set lists from the most unforgettable MTV Unplugged performances; and collections of music by city featuring artists from New York to LA. 

The House has made it unanimous, passing the Music Modernization Act without a naysayer among them, following the Senate's passage of the bill unanimously last week.

It now goes to the President's desk for his signature.

The bill creates a framework for better compensation of artists for digital plays of their music and makes it easier for music rights organizations to collect those fees from distributors of streamed music as they do from traditional plays on TV and radio.

Related: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Fractional Licensing

The House had already passed a version of the bill back in April, but had to revote it because of changes in the Senate version.

The legislation has been billed as the most significant change in music licensing laws in decades and has drawn praise from a chorus of stakeholders.

"The bill will result in the most significant improvement of music copyright law in more than a generation, making it easier for creators across the music industry to earn a fair living through their creativity," said Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid.

It incorporates a trio of bills. The base Modernization Act creates a single licensing entity for reproduction rights for digital uses, like those of Spotify, Pandora, Google, Apple and Amazon. It also randomly assigns judges to preside over ASCAP and BMI rate-setting cases, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The package also includes The CLASSICS (Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society) Act, which compensates artists for pre-1972 recordings that had previously not been eligible for digital royalties.

Then there was the AMP (Allocation for Music Producer) Act, which allows for direct payment of royalties to music producers and engineers.

"This critical legislation will benefit songwriters, legacy recording artists, producers, digital streaming services, and music listeners," said National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith. "The MMA is the culmination of a years-long process to find consensus solutions to music licensing problems...."

"We are particularly supportive of a provision in this legislation that ensures an enhanced congressional review of any DOJ changes to the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees. These decrees are essential to a functioning music marketplace, and any action to terminate them will now be preceded by appropriate Congressional oversight to protect the interests of songwriters, licensees, and consumers of music."

“Much has changed in the music industry in the digital age, with online streaming driving increased revenues for creators and copyright owners alike," said Digital Music Association CEO Chris Harrison. "A modern industry requires a modern solution. The MMA finally brings our music licensing laws into the 21st century and ensures greater transparency and efficiency for the entire music ecosystem."

"Creators opened my eyes to the inequities in American copyright law during my first year in Washington,": said Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), one of the legislators who introduced the original version of the bill. "Since then, I have been listening to and working with creators across the nation to make our laws work in the 21st century for the entire music ecosystem. The Music Modernization Act began with a commitment to fairness and found champions in both houses and across the aisle... It has been an honor to work alongside songwriters, publishers, digital streamers, broadcasters, artists and fellow lawmakers to make the music licensing landscape fairer and freer for everyone who’s ever loved a song."

“We’re pleased to see this updated bill pass the House," said Public Knowledge policy counsel Meredith Rose. 

"While the copyright terms in the revised bill aren’t perfect, they are vastly improved from the House’s original version, and avoid locking away pre-1972 sound recordings for many more decades than necessary. Furthermore, the bill now guarantees that old sound recordings will clearly and fully enter the public domain after the expiration of this new federal right.

Philo, the entertainment-OTT TV service, recently booted up a promo that offers new subscribers three free months of the Pandora Premium.  

The six-month promotion, for new and existing paying Philo customers, runs through October 26, “or until code quantities are exhausted.” 

Philo’s baseline package of 37 channels runs $16 per month, or $20 per month with an add-on package that pushes the lineup to 46 channels. The ad-free Pandora Premium service sells for $9.99 per month.  

RELATED: Hulu Sparks Spotify Bundle

Philo, which cut its teeth on IP-delivered multiscreen services for college campuses, launched its national OTT TV service last November.  

RELATED: Philo Unleashes Entertainment-Focused OTT TV Service 

Philo has raised about $51 million, with backers that include A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery, Scripps and Viacom, New Enterprise Associates, Rho Ventures, XFund, HBO, CBC New Media Group, and Mark Cuban’s Radical Investments. 

Music streaming giant Pandora announced Wednesday that it has inked a deal to acquire AdsWizz, a digital audio ad tech firm, for $145 million in cash and stock.  

Pandora said the addition will upgrade its own ad tech systems, provide advertisers with greater reach and open up new revenue opportunities.

Following an integration, advertisers will be able to transact through AdsWizz’s marketplace across Pandora and other top audio publishers, Pandora said.  Pandora said it will also support AdsWizz’s core business.

RELATED: Comcast Brings Upgraded Version of Pandora to X1

In addition to Pandora, AdsWizz’s customers include Spotify, Cox Media Group, Rogers Communications, Deezer, Omnicom MediaGroup, and PodcastOne, among others. Its demand-side partners include The Trade Desk, MediaMath, TubeMogul (now part of Adobe), and AppNexus.

Alexis van de Wyer will remain CEO of AdsWizz, which will become a subsidiary of Pandora when the deal is closed.

“Since I joined Pandora six months ago, I have highlighted ad tech as a key area of investment for us,” Roger Lynch, Pandora’s CEO, said in a statement. “Today we took an important step to advance that priority and accelerate our product roadmap. With our scale in audio advertising and AdsWizz’s tech expertise, we will create the largest digital audio advertising ecosystem, better serving global publishers and advertisers — while improving Pandora’s own monetization capabilities.”

RELATED: Sling TV Shakes Up Top Management

Comcast has unleashed an upgraded version of Pandora on its X1 set-top box platform that supports the digital music service’s full slate of features.

The upgrade, which began to appear on X1 over the weekend, now includes access to Pandora’s premium on-demand service ($9.99 per month), its ad-free radio Plus offering ($4.99 per month), ad-support radio stations, as well as a tighter integration with X1’s search platform and the X1 voice remote.

The deeper integration of Pandora also sports a new look and feel and brings Pandora’s on-demand Premium and ad-free radio Plus subscription services to X1 for the first time, the companies noted.

The integration also provides immediate Pandora playback through a simplified sign-in capability.

Under that new search capability, Pandora content (including select artist profile pages) can be surfaced via the Xfinity On Demand

Pandora is an internet-delivered app on X1, meaning that data for it is applied to Comcast’s internet usage policies.

Pandora, now led by former Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch, was also one of the first OTT apps to be integrated on X1, as a more limited version had been available on Comcast's relatively new STB platform since 2011. Comcast has since integrated several other OTT apps to X1, including Netflix, YouTube, iHeartRadio, and a library of casual games from TransGaming.

RELATED: Comcast Teams With TransGaming to Bring Free, Casual Games to X1 Boxes

About 57% of Comcast’s residential video base (Comcast had about 21.34 million video subs at the end of Q3) is on X1.

Pandora estimates that its service is available via more than 2,000 connected devices and streaming platforms.

“We’re seeing explosive growth in listening through in-home devices like X1, and we’re proud to be one of Comcast’s premier online music streaming partners,” Chris Phillips, Pandora’s chief product officer, said in a statement. “Pandora continues to harness the power of X1 in new and innovative ways from voice-activation to easy, intuitive access to music throughout the platform, bringing music to the forefront of your in-home entertainment experience like never before.”

“We are constantly improving the in-home entertainment experience by integrating new features and services into Xfinity X1,” added Chris Satchell, EVP and chief product officer at Comcast Cable, added. “Our customers love the ability to play music through their television, which often have the best speakers in the house, and we are thrilled to expand our partnership with Pandora and provide Xfinity TV customers with seamless access to Pandora’s full suite of online features on X1.” 

Layer3 TV, the Denver-based next-gen cable operator, said it has integrated Pandora’s music streaming service on all its set-top boxes.

Layer3 TV said its integration of Pandora supports features such as creating stations, thumbing and skipping tracks and discovering new artists.

All the features listeners have come to love and expect from the world’s leading music streaming service can now be found on the Layer3 TV Set-Top Box including creating stations, thumbing and skipping tracks, and discovering new artists. Dish Network and Comcast (for X1) are among other MVPDs that provide access to Pandora on set-top boxes. 

The latest set-top tie-in follows Layer3 TV’s recent integration of iHeartRadio. Layer3 TV has also integrated Facebook and YouTube on its set-tops and is expected to add more apps to the mix.

RELATED: Layer3 TV Tunes in iHeartRadio

“Layer3 TV set out to have the television be at the center of the living room,” Lindsay Gardner, Layer3 TV’s chief content officer, said in a statement. “Now our customers, who have enjoyed the highest quality television experience, can seamlessly enjoy the finest selection of music with Pandora’s elegant interface and personalized listening experience. We know this feature will delight our Layer3 TV customer base and is another example of a next-generation feature we pride ourselves on as a company.”

Layer3 TV currently offers service in Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington D.C.; Dallas/Ft. Worth; and Longmont, Colo., with access to the greater Denver area on deck.

RELATED: Layer3 TV Reselling Broadband Using Verizon’s Network in Washington, D.C., Area

Company CEO Jeff Binder recently confirmed on a discussion streamed on Facebook Live that Layer3 TV is preparing to launch service in New York City.

RELATED: New York Next on Layer3 TV’s Launch List

Naveen Chopra, the former TiVo exec who led the company through its merger with Rovi, has been appointed chief financial officer of online video service and discovery service Pandora.

Chopra, who takes on his new role Tuesday (Feb. 28), heads up Pandora’s Pandora’s finance, corporate development and strategy, investor relations, facilities and CIO functions, and reports to company founder and CEO Tim Westergren.

Chopra succeeds Mike Herring, who was Pandora’s CFO since March 2013, and assumed the role of president in March 2016, where he will continue to focus on growing Pandora’s ad and subscription businesses. 

Notably, Pandora is integrated with several set-top platforms, including Comcast X1 boxes, certain Dish Network and DirecTV Receivers, Verizon Fios boxes, and TiVo-powered devices.

Chopra most recently served as interim CEO of  TiVo and as the company’s CFO and SVP of corporate development and strategy. TiVo was acquired by Rovi last September, with the combined company carrying the TiVo name forward. Chopra, who joined TiVo in 2003, stayed on temporarily as an advisor after the Rovi acquisition closed.

RELATED: TiVo Names Naveen Chopra Interim CEO

“After a thorough and thoughtful search process, we are thrilled to welcome Naveen aboard,” Westergren said, in a statement.  “Naveen is a talented business leader whose deep knowledge and background in consumer-oriented technology companies make him the right choice as our new CFO.”

“Pandora fundamentally changed the way we listen to music and continues to lead the way in reshaping the future of music for listeners, music makers and advertisers,” added Chopra. “It’s an exciting time to join the team and a unique opportunity to combine my passion for world-class consumer services and strategic and operational experience to help guide Pandora’s growth and deliver shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with Tim, Mike and the entire Pandora team.”

Chopra holds bachelor degrees in computer science and economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Vonage Holdings Corp.

iHeartRadio has become the first live streaming radio app to launch on U-verse TV, AT&T’s IP-delivered pay TV platform.

The app, which requires users to have U-verse high-speed Internet service, is accessible on U-verse channel 532/1532 and allows users to search for radio stations based on genre, location or keyword; select from thousands of live radio stations; receive personalized recommendations based on listening habits, location and musical preferences; and access a list of saved or recently listened-to stations.

AT&T and iHeartMedia said they will add new features to the app later this year, including custom stations created from a library of more than 20 million songs and 800,000 artists, as well as song lyrics, artist biographies, stations "Perfect For" any mood or activity, and thousands of podcasts.

AT&T U-verse TV currently supports more than 30 apps, including music-focused apps such as Country Deep, Stingray Music, Karaoke TV and U-verse Jukebox.

“Personalization is one of the key features of AT&T U-verse TV, so a highly-customizable app like iHeartRadio is a natural fit,” said GW Shaw, vice president of U-verse and video products at AT&T, in a statement. “We’re excited to bring iHeartRadio and its extensive offerings to our U-verse customers.”

Integrating music apps at the set-top level has become an increasingly common play for U.S. MVPDs.

Comcast, for example, offers access to Pandora via its IP-capable X1 platform. Dish Network, meanwhile, announced in January that its Hopper and Joey boxes would add support for several third-party OTT music offerings, including Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, as well as to Vevo, the music video streaming service. Dish is also working on Dish Music, an app that will “discover” Hopper and Joey devices on the home network, allow customers tovselect from multiple music sources and independently control what music is being piped into the house. 

Arris said it will make streaming music service Pandora available on the set-top via the Arris Market, an applications platform that enables Arris’s pay TV partners to mix over-the-top fare with traditional live video services.

Arris said Pandora is the first music-streaming app to be offered on Arris Market, a system that was launched last summer in partnership with Wurl. Arris is initially offering the app store via its Whole Home Solution, a product that is anchored by a six-tuner HD-DVR/gateway.

“Music is a universal experience that’s unique to every listener, and Pandora captures this special quality perfectly,” said Ron Miller, Arris’s VP of product management for consumer solutions, in a statement.

Pandora is also offered on several other set-top box platforms, including TiVo and Comcast's X1. 

Severe winter weather in the Midwest and Northeast helped push The Weather Channel to its best February total audience performance since 2011, the network said Friday.

As record snowfalls and arctic-like temperatures battered the Midwest and Northeast with storms with names like Linus, Marcus, Octavia and Pandora, viewers flocked to the channel, which averaged 292,000 Total Audience (P2+) across the broadcast month.

"These numbers make it clear, when there are important weather events happening people of all ages turn to TV - and when they turn to TV they turn to The Weather Channel,” TWC president David Clark said in a statement. “We have made dramatic improvements to modernize our storm coverage capabilities, and it's heartening to see audiences respond."

To cover the storms, The Weather Channel said it deployed more crews and meteorologists around the clock over more consecutive days than any winter in its history. Highlights included:

·         The Weather Channel averaged 292K in total audience (P2+) across the broadcast month, our strongest performance since 2011, even beating February 2013, which included the massive Winter Storm Nemo.

·         This audience was not only the network's largest, but also the network's most engaged over the same period,with the average viewer spending over an hour each week watching the network  (time spent viewing (TSV) of 66 minutes).

·         Along with the growth in total audience, The Weather Channel is seeing its core demographic (P25-54) grow bigger and more engaged. In total day, Feb 2015 (96k) outperformed the prior year by +26% and time spent viewing (TSV) grew by +28%. Also in February 2015 vs. February 2014:

o    Live programming grew +20% with coverage of several winter storms

o    Original programming grew +47%

o    Most dayparts posted double-digit gains across the month

·         Original programming continued its winning streak, on pace to register its 8th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

·         With new co-hosts, “AMHQ” posted its best monthly average (89K) during the 7-10am time period.

·         During weekday mornings, “Wake Up with Al” saw an increase of +58% over the prior year’s average for the 5-7am block (84K vs 53K).  This was the highest performance for the block since 2013.

·         Weekend mornings (9a-12p) on The Weather Channel was the top grossing daypart, averaging a 146K (+54% yoy)

·         Fans were a big part of the storytelling during the February winter weather, sharing thousands of videos with The Weather Channel for use on the network, weather.com and The Weather Channel mobile apps.