AllTrack, a U.S. performing rights organization for independent musicians, says it has been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to dispel concerns about how PROs like itself can “increase transparency, improve ease of use, and reduce confusion for the businesses that license music.” The collection society also met with six other members of Congress to advocate for independent artists and songwriters and explain what it sees as the benefits of competition among PROs.
AllTrack, which was founded in 2017, notes that its meetings included one with Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) — the congressman who sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Dec. 8, 2025, urging the examination of “potential unfair or deceptive acts or practices by performing rights organizations (PROs).” Specifically, Fitzgerald’s letter, obtained by Billboard, centered its concerns on AllTrack and Pro Music Rights, the two smallest and newest PROs on the market.
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The meetings included a group of AllTrack executives and songwriters, and according to a representative, “led to a set of mutually agreeable resolutions with Rep. Scott Fitzgerald’s office to strengthen AllTrack’s commitment to transparency, eliminating the need for further inquiry.”
Fitzgerald’s FTC letter at the end of last year was the most recent attempt by the congressman to get the federal government to look into the practices of U.S. PROs. His calls for investigation first started in September 2024, when House Judiciary Committee members Fitzgerald, along with committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), wrote a letter to the Copyright Office, expressing concerns about the “proliferation” of new PROs and the lack of transparency about the distribution of general licensing revenue.
The 2024 letter led to the Copyright Office opening a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) into U.S. PROs, starting in February 2025, and created the opportunity for venues, restaurants, bars, and other music licensees — as well as the PROs — to share their misgivings and opinions about PROs’ operations. However, this inquiry ended on Nov. 20 with the Copyright Office declining to force any changes on the PROs.
The lack of action spurred Fitzgerald to continue his fight with the FTC letter, which stated that AllTrack and Pro Music Rights are soliciting businesses about purchasing their licenses and “leveraging the specter of statutory damages for those who do not comply,” but alleges that “while both entities feign legitimacy, it is unclear whether AllTrack or Pro Music Rights have amassed a repertoire that a licensee would find valuable to its business. Worse, however, it appears both entities may be misrepresenting to licensees the bodies of work they actually manage, thereby pressuring businesses to obtain a performance license they may not need.”
Fitzgerald points to AllTrack’s website as a source of concern, noting that artists like Billy Ray Cyrus and No Doubt are listed as clients, even though “AllTrack represents only a partial interest in one Billy Ray Cyrus song, and a composition once recorded by No Doubt.”
Since the FTC letter was issued, AllTrack tells Billboard it voluntarily enhanced disclosures on its site beneath artist images on their homepage to clarify that the artists it features are sometimes not personally clients of the collection society. Instead, some are just the performers of compositions or recordings that are related to AllTrack’s business, which spans performance, mechanical and neighboring rights collections.
AllTrack also notes that it used its time with Fitzgerald to talk through his concerns related to its search function, which allows users to see what rights they represent. “The office’s suggestion during the meeting was to change the navigation of AllTrack’s website,” says a representative for the collection society. “While a link to AllTrack’s repertory has always been available in AllTrack’s footer, the office also asked AllTrack to add an identical link to its header. This modification was made and is now live, to the satisfaction of Rep. Fitzgerald’s office.”
Hayden Bower, founder and CEO of AllTrack, says of its trip to D.C.: “One of AllTrack’s core missions is to help businesses clear the music rights they need simply, affordably, and with confidence, on behalf of the creators we represent. Well-informed licensees and fairly compensated creators are signs of a healthy performance licensing market, and we welcome any conversation, whether with businesses, creators, or regulators, that makes music licensing clearer.”
from Billboard https://ift.tt/DRg9t5y
