FTC Says ‘No Comment’ on Possible AllTrack, Pro Music Probe

D.C.’s Apex Building, which serves as the FTC’s headquarters. Photo Credit: Harrison Keely

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has declined to comment on its possible probe into AllTrack and Pro Music Rights (PMR). Meanwhile, PMR says it’s “actively exploring legal action” against the congressman who requested the investigation.

One week ago, that congressman, U.S. Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), asked the FTC to “examine potential unfair or deceptive acts or practices” on the part of the mentioned performing rights organizations (PROs).

And as we broke down shortly thereafter, the corresponding letter arrived on the heels of a Copyright Office public performance inquiry. The latter was itself set in motion by a bit of congressional scrutiny last year – though the early calls for transparency extended to ASCAP, BMI, and different PROs.

On the other hand, Representative Fitzgerald’s letter to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson zeroed in on the alleged “deceptive practices” of AllTrack and Pro Music Rights in particular. PMR promptly rejected “the false and misleading claims contained in Representative Fitzgerald’s letter to the FTC”; AllTrack and its Rock Paper Scissors PR team have yet to respond to DMN’s requests for comment.

Naturally, these developments all tie back to a central question: Does the Federal Trade Commission intend to kick off an investigation into the alleged FTC Act violations of AllTrack and Pro Music Rights?  

At least as things stand, we’ll have to wait for a definitive answer. An FTC public affairs rep declined to comment on the potential probe’s status – while underscoring the non-public nature of the government agency’s investigations.

In theory, then, the process could unfold (or, at a minimum, begin) in the background. However, Pro Music Rights told us that it hadn’t been served with related inquiries – and, in a formal release, emphasized the initially highlighted “legal action” possibility.

“Music Licensing, Inc. and its subsidiary, Pro Music Rights (PMR) today announced that they are actively exploring legal action in response to what it believes to be false and defamatory statements made by Representative Scott Fitzgerald, as well as coordinated efforts by legacy performing rights organizations (PROs) and industry lobbying groups to suppress independent competition in the U.S. music licensing marketplace,” the PRO penned.

Elsewhere in the lengthy release, PMR criticized the congressman’s alleged “politically motivated, factually inaccurate assertions”; ASCAP’s and BMI’s alleged attempts “to preserve dominance, reduce payments to creators, and marginalize innovative competitors”; and MIC Coalition members’ alleged support for “policies that make it more difficult for songwriters, composers, and publishers to receive royalties to which they are legally entitled.”

At present, Pro Music Rights doesn’t appear to have made good on its litigation threat. But according to the PRO, antitrust actions (against the MIC Coalition, ASCAP, BMI, and others) as well as defamation claims are on the table.

Regarding the defamation allegations: in the entity’s own words, its CEO, Jake Noch, “the only openly Jewish head of a performing rights organization in the United States,” is currently “evaluating legal action against Representative Fitzgerald for statements that he believes are anti-Semitic, false, and damaging to his personal and professional reputation.”

DMN reached out to the MIC Coalition (which wants “to make it easier for businesses to legally play music,” per its website) but didn’t immediately receive a response.