NPR and PBS jointly launched a new portal to handle performing rights agreements for public media stations nationwide, with plans to continue supporting future licensing negotiations 

When Congress voted in July 2025 to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding for public media, the shockwaves hit stations immediately. Budget gaps opened. Layoffs followed. And for many program directors, a quieter anxiety emerged: What happens to our music licenses?

For decades, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) negotiated music licensing agreements on behalf of the entire public media system—handling the complex legal work with performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and SoundExchange. The bundled approach created significant efficiencies for the public media system, saving stations immeasurable time and costs annually. CPB used public media’s federal appropriation to pay the cost of those licenses, defraying additional costs to stations and ensuring that all genres of noncommercial music in America were preserved on the airwaves. When CPB announced it would wind down operations following the rescission vote, that pillar suddenly looked precarious.

As CPB announced its wind-down in August, NPR and PBS stepped in to ensure there was clarity on music rights management  for public radio and television stations across the country.

Ashley Messenger, who is Deputy General Counsel at NPR, has worked on the music license negotiations for the public media system for many years. From her perspective, the legal framework remained stable even as the funding landscape shifted. “The licenses are run by Copyright Royalty Board proceedings,” Messenger explains. “They’re in place. CPB going away doesn’t change that.”

“The Copyright Royalty Board still exists. The statute still exists. The licenses that have already been negotiated are still in place,” says Messenger. The current performing rights organization licenses run through December 2027. SoundExchange agreements were renegotiated through 2030, with that new agreement coming into effect January 1, 2026. 

So the immediate concern wasn’t renegotiation. “The question was, how are we going to manage them in terms of doing the required paperwork, and who would pay for that?” Messenger says. 

That simple question is a big one for public media organizations, who saw the threat as a major one back when the rescission vote was simply a possibility. 

NPR and PBS quickly convened working groups. By October 1, they launched a new Public Media Music Rights portal, replacing CPB’s system and providing all eligible stations with information about their coverage status. The portal enables management of technical requirements like maintaining lists of registered stations and all the other details that performing rights organizations need.

“Rather than requiring every station to have lawyers who deal exclusively with music rights, it’s a lot more efficient and effective for NPR to have the lawyers that can help negotiate these licenses,” Messenger notes. 

Critically, the agreements cover not just NPR and PBS Member stations, but all public stations meeting eligibility criteria. “Anybody who’s eligible can register through our portal,” Messenger says. “They don’t have to be a Member, and we will take care of the reporting paperwork that’s required for that.”

That inclusive approach reflects public media’s collaborative nature. “The stations are very independent and very effective on their own,” says Messenger. “But there are certain things that are really burdensome and time-consuming that sometimes we can help with. And [the negotiation of] music licensing is one of them.”

When NPR and PBS held a webinar for media organizations in late 2025 to explain the transition, Messenger observed a mix of reactions. “I think by and large, everybody is very grateful that the license fees are covered for the next two years,” she says. 

Still, questions about long-term funding linger, though Messenger senses most stations are willing to let the process play out. “I think the sense I get is that a lot of the stations are willing to let this play out and let us come up with a plan and find a solution, and hopefully we can continue to maintain the excellent relationship that we have with the rights granting organizations.”

Driving the effort is something beyond technical competence. Throughout the conversation, Messenger returns to the core mission. “Everybody is very dedicated to the mission of genuinely trying to create an effective public service,” she says. “And that is true both for the audience and for the members.”

She describes NPR’s role as providing essential services that would be burdensome for individual stations to manage. “We are trying really hard to provide this service to stations in the most cost-effective, efficient way.” 

Looking ahead, Messenger remains committed. “I sincerely hope that it continues to work that way. And I expect that NPR is going to continue to offer this [negotiation] service to the network because we do see that it’s important, and it is a service that we can provide.”

As public media navigates its new reality without federal appropriations, the music licensing story offers a template. The rescission didn’t just eliminate funding—it threatened to dissolve decades of institutional knowledge and administrative infrastructure. CPB’s formal dissolution marked the end of 58 years of federal stewardship. But public media has always been a collective enterprise. When one pillar falls, others step in.

For now, the licenses are secure. The music plays on. And in a moment when so much feels uncertain for public media, that continuity matters.