Sony/ATV will withdraw from music rights groups ASCAP and BMI in January, according to “executives close to the matter.”

The report comes from The New York Post, which also says that Sony/ATV negotiations were a sticking point for Apple, which wanted to launch its own streaming service on the iPhone 5 but failed to negotiate rights with the publisher at the last minute.

ASCAP and BMI have the power to negotiate streaming rights for all of their members – ...