The U.S. Supreme Court case Broadcast Music, Inc., et al. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., et al., 1978 revolved around the issue of whether blanket licensing by performing rights societies constituted a violation of antitrust laws or not. The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) argued that such licenses were a form of price-fixing and therefore illegal under the Sherman Act - an act designed to prevent monopolies and promote competition in business markets. However, Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), who provided these licenses allowing broadcasters to play any song in their repertoire for a fixed fee, disagreed with CBS's claim. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of BMI and ASCAP stating that while blanket licensing may be viewed as price fixing from one perspective; it is also seen as a more efficient way for music users to gain access to copyrighted works without having individual negotiations with copyright owners which would be time-consuming and costly process otherwise.

In the dissenting opinion for Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., Justice Stevens argued that blanket licensing agreements constituted a form of price fixing and should be considered per se illegal under antitrust law. He disagreed with the majority's view that these agreements were a unique market response to copyright laws and instead saw them as an attempt by music rights organizations to monopolize control over copyrighted works in order to dictate prices. In his view, this practice stifled competition among individual copyright holders who might otherwise compete on price or terms of use if they could negotiate directly with broadcasters rather than through collective entities like BMI or ASCAP.