Written By Kate Zimmermann | April 17, 2007 | Share This |

The Copyright Royalty Board has denied all motions to reconsider a ruling that forces Internet radio stations to pay royalties for songs heard per user. Under such an absurd calculation of royalties, webcasters will be expected to pay upwards of millions of dollars to operate. The new fees will go into effect May 15th - though NPR and other small action groups have appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. From Ars Technica,

” The ruling is a huge blow to online broadcasters, and the new royalty structure could knock a large number of them off the ‘Net entirely. Under the previous setup, radio stations would have to pay an annual fee plus 12 percent of their profits to the music industry’s royalty collection organization, SoundExchange. It was a good setup for the webcasters, most of whom are either nonprofits or very small organizations…

SoundExchange is jubilant over the ruling. Executive Director John Simson called the CRB’s ruling a victory for performing artists and record labels. “Our artists and labels look forward to working with the Internet radio industry—large and small, commercial and noncommercial—so that together we can ensure it succeeds as a place where great music is available to music lovers of all genres,” said Simson in a statement.

Noble words, but after today’s ruling…there probably won’t be much of an Internet radio industry left for SoundExchange to work with.”

Go to SaveNetRadio.org to sign an online petition and email your thoughts to congress.

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