The case of Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting, Inc. v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 1963 revolved around copyright law and the licensing fees for music broadcasted on radio stations. Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting argued that ASCAP's blanket license fee was discriminatory as it did not take into account the size or revenue of a station but rather charged all broadcasters equally regardless of their ability to pay. They claimed this violated anti-trust laws by creating an unfair monopoly over copyrighted music distribution rights which resulted in excessive prices for smaller broadcasters like themselves who could not afford these high costs. On the other hand, ASCAP contended that its blanket license system was necessary to efficiently manage copyrights while ensuring fair compensation for artists whose work is played on airwaves nationwide. Ultimately, The Supreme Court ruled in favor of ASCAP stating that their practice did not violate antitrust laws because they were merely protecting intellectual property rights through collective action which is allowed under copyright law.

In the dissenting opinion for Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting, Inc. v. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (1963), Justice Harlan argued that the Court's decision to uphold blanket licensing agreements was misguided. He contended that these licenses were inherently anti-competitive because they forced broadcasters to pay for rights to all songs in a catalog, even if they only intended to use a few. This practice stifled competition by making it difficult for individual songwriters or smaller music publishers who weren't part of large organizations like ASCAP or BMI to negotiate their own deals with broadcasters. Furthermore, he believed this system unfairly burdened small radio stations which couldn't afford such expensive licenses but still had an obligation under FCC regulations to provide diverse programming including music content.