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

441 U.S. 1 · Decided April 17, 1979 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. was decided on April 17, 1979 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Antitrust” in the Economic Activity area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

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

SCDB identifiers: case 1978-070, docket 1978-070-01.

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Same Term, same area (Economic Activity)

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error