Broadcast Music, Inc., et al. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., et al.

Decided April 17, 1979. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-1578 · 441 U.S. 1 (1979) · Cited 694 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc. · 395 U.S. 100 (1969)
• Continental T. v. Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc. · 433 U.S. 36 (1977)
• National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States · 435 U.S. 679 (1978)
• United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. · 310 U.S. 150 (1940)
• Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. United States · 356 U.S. 1 (1958)
• United States v. United States Gypsum Co. · 438 U.S. 422 (1978)
• Times-Picayune Publishing Co. v. United States · 345 U.S. 594 (1953)
• United States v. Topco Associates, Inc. · 405 U.S. 596 (1972)
• White Motor Co. v. United States · 372 U.S. 253 (1963)
• United States v. Trenton Potteries Co. · 273 U.S. 392 (1927)
• Sam Fox Publishing Co. v. United States · 366 U.S. 683 (1961)
• United States v. Grinnell Corp. · 384 U.S. 563 (1966)
• United States v. Philadelphia National Bank · 374 U.S. 321 (1963)
• United States v. New York Telephone Co. · 434 U.S. 159 (1977)
• United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. · 334 U.S. 131 (1948)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• International Salt Co. v. United States · 332 U.S. 392 (1947)
• Perma Life Mufflers, Inc. v. International Parts Corp. · 392 U.S. 134 (1968)
• Tampa Electric Co. v. Nashville Coal Co. · 365 U.S. 320 (1961)
• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• United States & Interstate Commerce Commission v. American Railway Express Co. · 265 U.S. 425 (1924)
• Kiefer-Stewart Co. v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. · 340 U.S. 211 (1951)
• Standard Oil Co. of California v. United States · 337 U.S. 293 (1949)
• Mercoid Corp. v. Mid-Continent Investment Co. · 320 U.S. 661 (1944)
• Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman · 433 U.S. 406 (1977)
• Simpson v. Union Oil Co. of Cal. · 377 U.S. 13 (1964)
• United Shoe MacHinery Corp. v. United States · 258 U.S. 451 (1922)
• United States v. Loew's Inc. · 371 U.S. 38 (1962)
• Appalachian Coals, Inc. v. United States · 288 U.S. 344 (1933)
• Ethyl Gasoline Corp. v. United States · 309 U.S. 436 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society · 457 U.S. 332 (1982)
• New York Times Co. v. Tasini · 533 U.S. 483 (2001)
• National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma · 468 U.S. 85 (1984)
• Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. · 551 U.S. 877 (2007)
• Northwest Wholesale Stationers, Inc. v. Pacific Stationery & Printing Co. · 472 U.S. 284 (1985)
• Texaco Inc. v. Dagher · 547 U.S. 1 (2006)
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. · 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
• Brooke Group Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 509 U.S. 209 (1993)
• Aspen Skiing Co. v. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp. · 472 U.S. 585 (1985)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Indiana Federation of Dentists · 476 U.S. 447 (1986)
• Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics Corp. · 485 U.S. 717 (1988)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Ass'n · 493 U.S. 411 (1990)
• Catalano, Inc. v. Target Sales, Inc. · 446 U.S. 643 (1980)
• California Dental Ass'n v. Federal Trade Commission · 526 U.S. 756 (1999)
• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Alston · 594 U.S. 69 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).