The mud is slinging between Irving Azoff’s Global Music Rights (GMR) and the Radio Music Licensing Committee (RMLC).
In reaction to an “urgent message” sent Monday (1/9) to broadcasters informing them that it is receiving “troubling reports from a number of station operators who have received interim fee license quotes from GMR,” GMR CEO Randy Grimmett distributed a response letter to RMLC stations on Tuesday (1/10).
The key takeaway from GMR: The interim license was negotiated by both GMR and RMLC. Period.
In the letter, obtained by Streamline Publishing’s Radio INK, Grimmett called the interim license “the product of weeks of negotiations, proposals, and counter-proposals” between GMR and RMLC.
“Despite this documented history, the RMLC issued yesterday a statement on its website claiming it did not negotiate the $2,500,000 monthly fee or your company’s allocation of that fee. Both statements are categorically false,” Grimmett said.
Given the RMLC’s “serious misstatements of the facts,” Grimmett reeled off a brief history of GMR’s negotiations with the RMLC regarding an interim license, leading up to this conclusion:
“The interim license fees that we sent to each of you over the weekend were taken directly from the RMLC’s spreadsheet,” Grimmett said. “In addition, the interim license itself was reviewed, revised, and approved by the RMLC and its counsel. All of this is documented. The RMLC’s contrary statements are inexcusable and counterproductive.”
Nevertheless, GMR says it remains committed to providing access to its repertoire through the interim license sent last weekend and, ultimately, through a long-term license agreement.
