House Committee on Small Business
2361 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairwoman Velázquez:
Future of Music Coalition respectfully submits this written testimony for consideration in advance of the committee’s June 28, 2007 hearing on “Assessing the Impact of the Copyright Royalty Board Decision to Increase Royalty Rates on Recording Artists and Webcasters”. read more
Future of Music Coalition fully supports the digital performance royalty but we reiterate the position that we’ve held since the first round of webcast rate-setting in 2002: we will not support "one size fits all" rates and processes that will not let small and noncommercial webcasters survive. read more
A Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel is a group of three arbitrators from the private sector, appointed and administered by the US Copyright Office and the Library of Congress, which meet for limited times for the purpose of adjusting rates and distributing royalties. A CARP was established in 1993 to negotiate the terms of the webcasting royalty rates and reporting requirements. This fact sheet covered some of the core issues that were present in the proceedings in 2001-2002. read more
FMC urges the U.S. Copyright Office to be wary of efforts by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to establish themselves as the sole and exclusive collection agent for Digital Performance Royalties for sound recordings. Instead, the Coalition has proposed that an independent body would be the more appropriate vehicle to collect and distribute these funds as well as other monies including the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 royalties. read more
