BILL INTRODUCED TO SET ASIDE NEW WEBCAST ROYALTIES Brida Connolly and Jeffrey Yorke – Radio and Records Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) today (April 26) introduced the "Internet Radio Equality Act," which would vacate the Copyright Royalty Board's recent hike in webcast performance royalties and set a transitional flat royalty rate of 7.5% of revenues for 2006-2010. The bill would also let webcasters choose an alternative rate of .33 cents per hour of programming streamed to a single listener.
The bill would change the rate-setting standard used by the CRB for Internet-radio royalties to a standard similar to that applied to satellite radio and reset the royalty rules for noncommercial radio stations that stream music online.
The Copyright Royalty Board on March 2 raised the statutory royalty to be paid by Internet radio operators from .07 cents per performance to .08 cents in 2006, .11 cents in 2007, .14 cents in 2008, .18 cents in 2009 and .19 cents in 2010, with a minimum annual fee of $500 per streamed channel. On April 17 the CRB rejected requests by National Public Radio and the Digital Media Association for a rehearing on the rates, and the increased rates are set to go into effect on May 15, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006. |