News: Higher Music Royalty Rates

LATEST NEWS: CONGRESS AND SOUNDEXCHANGE GRANT TEMPORARY REPRIEVE TO WEBCASTERS. YOUR VOICE MADE A DIFFERENCE.

Congress and SoundExchange have granted a temporary reprieve to webcasters. The deadline for payments was Sunday, July 15. SoundExchange has agreed to not shut down Internet radio websites while negotiations and discussions are in progress. However, fees and interest will continue to accrue during this time.

- Reprieve on Royalty Increase Being Pursued for Internet Radio, NY Times, July 14, 2007
- Net Radio Wins Partial Reprieve as Royalties Loom, Wired, July 13, 2007

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
ON THE BEAT "WHEN OUR LEADERS FAIL US"
Original broadcast: July 11, 2007

The deadline to pay royalties is this Sunday, July 15. A three-panel board of judges on the Copyright Royalty Board, or CRB, instituted the fees. Congress appointed the CRB. Now with these new fees, it appears large Internet streamers like AOL, Yahoo, Live 365 and Pandora will perish.

How did the situation get so out of whack? It doesn't happen often, but even judges can make mistakes.

- Listen to the show
- More info

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
ON THE BEAT "CLOUDY ISSUES SURROUND INTERNET RADIO"
Original broadcast: July 4, 2007

KCRW's weekly music commentary, On The Beat, reveals that the new SoundExchange offer to music webcasters concerning internet music royalties includes quid pro quos that the organization did not disclose in its July 29 press release.

KCRW commentator Celia Hirschman reports that webcasters would have to agree to cease their lobbying efforts on behalf of the Internet Radio Equality Act and that the SoundExchange offer only extends for 18 more months.

KCRW has since learned that, as part of the agreement, webcasters would also have to withdraw their legal motion for a stay on the per channel minimum issue.

- Read the press release (PDF)
- Listen to the show
- More info

EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO PETITION CONGRESS THIS INDEPENDENCE WEEK
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS - CLICK HERE!

The music industry’s new offer to adjust internet royalties contains hidden demands. The most egregious is that we stop lobbying Congress to support the Internet Radio Equality Act.

Every American has the right to petition Congress. Celebrate this Independence week. Contact your Representative and Senators now.

We believe artists and their labels should be fairly compensated. That’s why we support the Internet Radio Equality Act. Time is running out for online music webcasters. On July 15th, new high internet royalties will shut down thousands of music streams.

- Click here to find your representative in the House and Senate and contact them now
- Or call (202) 225-1904 for more information

NUMBER AND CURRENT LIST OF CO-SPONSORS FOR HOUSE BILL, H.R. 2060

View the current number and list of co-sponsors for the Internet Radio Equality Act below. If you Congressional representative is on the list, please call him/her now to thank them for their support

- Click here to view the current number and list of co-sponsors (Library of Congress)

SUPPORT OUR MUSIC STREAMS. LISTEN AS A SUBSCRIBER

If you listen to music on KCRW.com, we’ll be paying for you. Please listen as a KCRW subscriber.

- Click here to join and subscribe

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
INTERNET RADIO DAY OF SILENCE "D-DAY FOR WEBCASTERS"
Original broadcast: June 26, 2007

KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour joins Pandora, Live365, Yahoo!, AccuRadio, indie webcaster BAGeL Radio and public radio station WAMU/Washington, DC to describe the effects that the new rates will have on their ability to stream and to serve audiences online.

- Download now (may be shared with attribution)
- Listen now
- More info

YAHOO!, REAL NETWORKS, LIVE365 AND PANDORA WRITE TO CONGRESS
June 7, 2007

The heads of Yahoo!, Real Networks, Live365 and Pandora have written to Congress warning of disastrous consequences to Internet radio if the new music royalty rates prevail.

- Read the letter to the Representative here (PDF)
- Read the letter to the Senator here (PDF)

SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
POLITICS OF CULTURE "DEADLINE LOOMS FOR INTERNET ROYALTY RATES
Original broadcast: June 5, 2007

A panel discussion featuring John Simson, Director of SoundExchange, the collection agency for the music industry; Jon Potter, Executive Director of the Digital Integrated Media Association (DIMA); and Shanna Winters, Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on The Courts, The Internet and Intellectual Property, chaired by Congressman Howard Berman.

- Listen now
- More info

NPR FILES NOTICE OF APPEAL WITH THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
May 31, 2007

NPR has joined with other organizations in filing a request for an emergency stay with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, asking that the CRB judges’ decision be put in abeyance until the appeals process is completed.

NPR's vice president for communications, Andi Sporkin said:

“The shortcomings of the CRB’s decision require public radio to seek this stay and file the Notice of Appeal. It is crucial that relief be provided because in only 45 days - and counting - public radio stations which reach a broad audience will be forced to operate under commercial broadcaster rules and pay commercial-level royalties, and we still have no idea how much that amount is or even how to calculate it.

The ill-conceived CRB decision and its impending deadline are causing irreparable harm to stations across the system by diminishing their service to the public who value the diversity of music that public radio has historically, uniquely offered, and the music community that counts on us to help them reach these listeners.”

For more information:

- NPR Joins Appeal of Online Music Royalties, The Washington Post , Friday June 1, 2007
- Online-Radio Royalty Fight Reaches New Pitch, The Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2007

ABOUT THE INTERNET RADIO EQUALITY ACT

The Internet Radio Equality Act (H.R. 2060 and S. 1353), introduced both in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, would save many independent music webcasters from going out of business by nullifying the decision of the Copyright Royalty Board requiring webcasters to make large royalty payments.

The act provides reasonable royalties for artists and their labels by putting royalties paid by webcasters under the same system and standards as royalties paid by satellite radio services. This act has special provisions to protect public radio webcasters like KCRW and needs your support.

- Read the text of the bill in the U.S. Senate (S. 1353) here
- Read the text of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2060) here

For more information, please visit SaveNetRadio.org

Special Programming:
On the Beat "Broadcast Radio versus the Recording Industry"
Original broadcast: April 25, 2007

According to Roll Call, which is the Congressional newspaper, the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, is joining forces with several artists’ organizations to push Congress to require that broadcast radio stations pay royalties to performers. This is an entirely new issue and one that will be hotly argued by all sides.

- Listen now
- More info

Special Programming:
The Politics of Culture "A Discussion about the Copyright Royalty Board Decision"
Original broadcast: April 10, 2007

The Copyright Royalty Board has announced new higher royalty rates for Internet music stations. Ruth Seymour, KCRW General Manager presents a discussion of the CRB decision affecting online music broadcasters with radio consultant Mark Ramsey, Kurt Hanson of the Radio and Internet Newsletter and John Simson of SoundExchange.

- Listen now
- More info

Copyright Royalty Board Rejects All Appeals
April 16, 2007

The Copyright Royalty Board has rejected all the appeals presented by internet music webcasters, including public radio.

- Order Denying Motions for Rehearing (PDF)

NPR Files Appeal on Behalf of Public Radio
April 2, 2007

On Monday April 2, NPR (filing on behalf of public radio) asked the Copyright Royalty Board to set a date as soon as possible to hear oral arguments and conduct a rehearing of their decision of March 2, 2007.

NPR’s request was based on two decisions by the Board: 1) non-commercial public radio stations were treated as commercial entities; and 2) the rate structure for music streaming on public radio websites is both inappropriate for public radio and unworkable. NPR asked the Board to withdraw and/or modify the Aggregate Tuning Hour (ATH) concept and, at a minimum, to stay the imposition of ATH/per-performance fees and rescind the imposition of retroactive fees.

KCRW Statement Regarding Copyright Royalty Board Rate Increases

KCRW-89.9 FM/Santa Monica, CA is the public radio station most affected by the new higher royalty rates for Internet music stations that were announced by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). KCRW’s General Manager Ruth Seymour released the following statement:

“The CRB decision is truly egregious in that it treats successful non-commercial online music webcasters as if they were commercial stations. We support NPR’s plans for a reconsideration of the CRB decision.

“KCRW believes that the record companies and artists whose music we champion deserve fair recompense. We trust that the music industry is open to good-faith negotiations.

“KCRW has promoted many independent artists and introduced new musicians on-air and online. The station has also benefited greatly from their work. We therefore support reasonable royalty payments that rightly reward both artists and labels and hope that we will be able to reach an accommodation for public stations online and for other non-commercial webcasters, as well.

“Many of KCRW’s most devoted subscribers and supporters are people who work in the entertainment industry. We understand their concern for intellectual property rights in the new digital media. Many federal agencies recognize the difference between for-profit and non-profit businesses – including the IRS, the FCC and the US Congress. And we believe the CRB must honor that distinction.”

Ruth Seymour
KCRW General Manager

About KCRW's Music Streams

KCRW's Music streams are an experiment in the next generation of internet radio, from Los Angeles-based 89.9 KCRW.

KCRW puts the best of underground flavors, independent records and progressive major releases within reach 24/7. Our music streams boast the same variety of cutting edge music that defines 89.9 KCRW’s eclectic identity, featuring electronica to progressive pop, Latin alternative to modern soul, hip-hop, trip-hop, world music and more.

Our 24/7 hosted stream is designed to reach the open-minded and adventurous music fan. We play music we love, by artists we believe in, all hand-selected by real DJs.

KCRW aims to offer a distinctly global feel on the stream, covering music, events and interesting content from around the world while not forgetting the flavor of our hometown, here in Los Angeles. A special element of our Music channel is "Today's Top Tune," a 24-hour-only downloadable song of the day, available every weekday. Soon, we’ll be adding record reviews, global gig guides and other neat content to amplify your listening adventure.

Los Angeles-based 89.9 KCRW is an internationally renowned source for breaking music, free-form radio and DJs who are counted among the industry’s trendsetters and tastemakers. With a spirit of discovery and a keen eye on the future of media technology, we launched our music only channel in March 2006. For the first time, KCRW star DJs like Nic Harcourt, Chris Douridas, Tom Schnabel, Jason Bentley, Garth Trinidad and Anne Litt are back-to-back on a DJ-hosted 24/7 music stream.

KCRW's Music channel is also available through iTunes and on Radio@AOL

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