The sounds of silence as net radio to go dead

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 26 June 2007 07:37

Your IT - Home IT

The campaign against a hike in music royalties levied on US Internet radio stations steps up a gear with a "Day of Silence" on June 26.

Organised by the SaveNetRadio coalition, the protest aims to draw attention to the likely closure of many stations when new and retrospective royalty rates come into effect in July 15.

The list of stations participating in the Day of Silence range from large webcasters including Yahoo, the Live365 network, Rhapsody and MTV Online, though student operations such as WCPR (Stevens Institute of Technology) and KCWU (Central Washington University), to no-profit, listener-supported stations like RadioSkipper.

"Webcasters of every size and from every corner of the country will stand united tomorrow to protest a very real and fast approaching threat to their livelihood,” said Jake Ward, a spokesperson for the SaveNetRadio Coalition.

One problem with the new rates is that they can exceed a webcaster's revenue, although the smallest webcasters have already gained an exemption until 2010.

Another issue is that there is no provision for rightsholders to opt out of the royalty scheme, so there's no equivalent of 'podcast safe' music for webcasters. Consequently, the closure of Internet radio stations that cannot afford the royalties could be especially harmful to new acts that see webcasts as a good way of gaining exposure.

Furthermore, if a band or other rightsholder declines to sign up with SoundExchange - the mandated royalty agency - they simply do not receive the royalties - SoundExchange keeps them instead. (Similar schemes exist elsewhere to manage the legally sanctioned use of copyright materials such as the photocopying of newspaper and magazine articles by Australian educational establishments.)

Rightsholder groups make the reasonable argument that if a webcaster can't afford a fair price for the music, then it should not transmit the content.

Proposed legislation to reduce royalties payable by webcasters has support from both sides of politics.