If you’re new to the whole concept of who gets paid when you hear a tune on terrestrial radio, here’s the situation in a nutshell:

Currently, when you hear a song on over-the-air broadcast radio in the US, the composer/songwriter/publisher are compensated for that "public performance" via ASCAP/BMI/SESAC, but the performer and record label are not. Meaning, if you hear Aretha Franklin’s classic version of "Respect" on the radio, the songwriter (in this case, Otis Redding’s estate) and the publisher receive payment; the Queen of Soul (and her label) do not receive any performance royalties. Check out our Public Performance Right fact sheet for more info. read more

Back in September 2008, we told you about the passing of the Webcaster Settlement Act, which allowed for the implementation of an agreement between copyright owners, performers and online broadcasters on webcasting royalty rates — provided they arrive at mutually-agreed-upon rates by February 15, 2009. read more

There’s no doubt that the emergence of peer-to-peer file sharing, music blogs and portable media players just a few short years ago launched a digital music revolution. Yet as incredible as carrying around tens of thousands of songs in your pocket is, selling songs via the PC is not likely to be a permanent music business model. What’s next for the iPod and its brethren? A quick look at the devices currently on the market points to a wireless future. Apple’s high-end iPod Touch and it’s closest competitors, the SanDisk Sansa and Microsoft Zune, all have the ability to acquire music wirelessly — via either an online store or wireless file sharing. read more

DRM

Study: Consumers Prefer DRM-Free Tracks
A survey conducted by law firm Olswang Entertainment and Media Research of over 300,000 UK music fans reveals that DRM-free music is preferred by consumers, as well as a willingness to pay more for DRM-free tracks.
By Anthony Bruno, Billboard.biz, August 6, 2007 read more

The Cold War between SoundExchange and webcasters over the new royalty rates is thawing — at least in part. SoundExchange announced yesterday it had reached a compromise with some large webcasters that will give them a break on the rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board back in March.

The CRB had required webcasters to pay a minimum $500 "per station per channel" fee with no cap. This would add up to a hefty chunk of change for webcasters (such as Pandora) that allow each listener to create a persona web channel. Under the terms of the compromise, each webcasters’ royalty rates will be capped at $50,000 regardless of the number of stations or channels. read more

Radio

The Great Spectrum Giveaway
The FCC is giving radio spectrum to community-based non-profit organizations in October. Radio for People, which includes Prometheus Radio, FMC, and Free Press, is assisting groups with the complicated application process, but many obstacles still exist to prevent community groups from breaking into a highly consolidated radio spectrum.
by Megan Tady, In These Times, July 18, 2007 read more

Webcasting

Congress urges peace talks in Net radio conflict
In a hearing on webcasting on Thursday, members of Congress admitted that they were unsure how to balance the interests of webcasters with the need to compensate artists through royalties. Since the new royalties are effective on July 15, Congress is urging webcasters and SoundExchange to work things out independently in order to beat the deadline and avoid the collapse of small business webcasters.
by Anne Broache, CNET, June 28, 2007
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After decades of talking and singing about it, the date for the death of music has finally been set — it’s Tuesday. No, not really, but many webcasters including Live365, Launchcast, MTV, RealNetworks and others will pull the plug on their broadcasts that day to protest the looming increase in the royalty rates they pay. It is being billed as a "Day of Silence."

As we have written about before, many webcasters say the new rates are so high they will be forced off the air. The new rates are scheduled to kick on July 15th. Legislation is working its way through Congress that would knock down the new rates, which were levied by SoundExchange.
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