8.4.2016 Washington — Today the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that it has concluded its two year consent decree review, and that it will refrain from altering the existing decrees regulating Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), as well as other elements of the music industry. The consent … Read more
By Tara Good 7.25.2016 Last Friday, the MIC Coalition, which includes WineAmerica, along with bars, restaurants, and streaming services, sent a letter supporting DOJ’s decision to keep in place the longstanding consent decrees which have governed music licensing by ASCAP and BMI for decades. View Letter to the Department of Justice Additionally, MIC applauded DOJ’s … Read more
by Michael Kaiser 7.11.16 Background In the Fall of 2008 the United States, and in turn the global economy, was on the brink of collapse. When the Obama Administration came into office in early 2009, their priorities included investigating the collapse and working with Congress to avoid similar collapses in the future. In 2009 and … Read more
by Michael Kaiser 6.27.16 TTB has issued Notice 160 (read it here) Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling and Record Keeping Requirements. The notice proposes to amend the labeling regulations to provide that any standard grape wine containing 7% or more alcohol by volume that is covered by a certificate of exemption from label approval may … Read more
by Michael Kaiser 6.9.16 The Keystone State has become the 44th US state to allow some form of direct-to-consumer shipping of wine. Yesterday Governor Tom Wolf (D) signed House Bill 1690 into law, opening up state. Now, only six states prohibit direct-to-consumer shipping: Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Utah. Pennsylvania is a “control state” … Read more