[webcast-l] A Commonsense Proposal On Net Radio Rates

[Bill Best]

Hi

This mostly pertains to the US but could have implications for webcasters in 
the UK.

Below is a link to an open letter to the Recording Industry Association of 
America (RIAA), proposing a fairer royalty structure for Net radio, written 
by Paul A. Gathard.

Gathard is president of Barnabus Road Media, a company that provides 
streaming radio services to commercial and non-commercial stations across 
the US. He contends that his proposed rate structure, if implemented, would 
actually result in higher total revenues to SoundExchange [0] than their 
current proposal would, after it kills off most internet radio stations.

http://www.dailytech.com/An+Open+Letter+to+Members+of+the+RIAA/article8435.htm

It seems to me that there is a balance to be struck between protecting music 
labels from piracy and misuse, and the market exposure which smaller 
stations are able to give particularly to niche audiences - especially with 
the recent news of the growing popularity of digital radio channels.

Bill

[0] SoundExchange is a non-profit performance rights organisation in the US 
that collects royalties on the behalf of sound recording copyright owners 
and featured artists for non-interactive digital transmissions, including 
satellite and internet radio.

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