The music of 70-million Internet listeners -- at least through many thousands of American Internet Radio webcasters big and small ... will die on May 15th.
After saying that it would re-consider motions regarding the exhorbatant royalty rights to be levied against Internet Radio webcasters in the U.S. -- the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has now reversed postion -- to the glee of SoundExchange and the record labels -- and has denied all motions and will not have a re-consideration hearing, after all.
The next step: A laborous, time consuming and expensive motion to the U.S. COurt of Appeal in the District of Columbia - a process that will at least a year IF the court accepts the appel. SOme say that the chance to do so is slim.
Congress has shown support in changing this outrageousness, but, legislators have just a few other things of importance to take care of at the moment ...
The "migration" of US Internet stations to Canada or "offshore" will not work according to those in the know, as it's not the "account" that matters, it's the actual licensing of the stream that does if the station, its music and its advertising (if any) is "directed" to an American audience.
There would also be fees to be paid from those country's music performing groups as well as ASCAP, BMI & SESAC.
These royalties, as proposed (and to be collected in May) are prohibitively expensive based on the model proposed -- costing some hundreds of thousands of dollars and increasing rates for small webcasters from three to tenfold (with the accent on tenfold.)
Time is short...bankruptcy looms for many talented Internet Radio broadcasters, including some major stations ...
Terrestrial broadcasters won't get off free, either -- just not as bad as strictly Internet webcasters.
Read it and weep...
http://www.savenetradio.org/
After saying that it would re-consider motions regarding the exhorbatant royalty rights to be levied against Internet Radio webcasters in the U.S. -- the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has now reversed postion -- to the glee of SoundExchange and the record labels -- and has denied all motions and will not have a re-consideration hearing, after all.
The next step: A laborous, time consuming and expensive motion to the U.S. COurt of Appeal in the District of Columbia - a process that will at least a year IF the court accepts the appel. SOme say that the chance to do so is slim.
Congress has shown support in changing this outrageousness, but, legislators have just a few other things of importance to take care of at the moment ...
The "migration" of US Internet stations to Canada or "offshore" will not work according to those in the know, as it's not the "account" that matters, it's the actual licensing of the stream that does if the station, its music and its advertising (if any) is "directed" to an American audience.
There would also be fees to be paid from those country's music performing groups as well as ASCAP, BMI & SESAC.
These royalties, as proposed (and to be collected in May) are prohibitively expensive based on the model proposed -- costing some hundreds of thousands of dollars and increasing rates for small webcasters from three to tenfold (with the accent on tenfold.)
Time is short...bankruptcy looms for many talented Internet Radio broadcasters, including some major stations ...
Terrestrial broadcasters won't get off free, either -- just not as bad as strictly Internet webcasters.
Read it and weep...
http://www.savenetradio.org/