Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: CMA provisionally releases Performing Right Society from undertakings, (Mar 25, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally released the Performing Right Society (PRS) from undertakings dating back to 1997, the agency announced on March 23.

In 1997, the PRS gave undertakings allowing its members to administer their own live performing rights, as well as make other commitments over its corporate governance and the provision of information to the CMA’s predecessor, the Office of Fair Trading. In November 2015, the CMA announced that it would carry out a review of the undertakings which followed a 1996 Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) investigation.

The group of independent CMA panel members carrying out the review considered whether there had been a change of circumstances such that the undertakings were no longer appropriate and should be varied, released, or retained. They provisionally determined that the PRS’ undertakings were no longer required because the areas and concerns covered by the undertakings were effectively addressed by the forthcoming implementation of the European Union (EU) Collective Rights Management Directive.

The Directive, which is due to be implemented by each EU member state by April 10, 2016, introduces a number of requirements that collective management organizations, such as the PRS, must meet, as well as various protections for their members. The requirements are intended to ensure a high standard of governance, financial management, transparency, and reporting.

The PRS, one of the two main collecting societies for music in the U.K., licenses musical works and administers the royalties when such works are played in public or broadcast.

News: Antitrust