WHO'S ‘ZOOMING’ WHO? Chris Byrnes The Internet seems to be the whipping boy for anyone with a good lawyer these days. Radio stations streaming on the net have not escaped the attention of the people in shiny suites either. Well not at least in the litigious U-S-of-A.
The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) is demanding retroactive fees for radio stations broadcasting music on the Internet, and that alone could spell doom for many financially strapped commercial radio stations attempting to broaden their audience by streaming their broadcasts on the Internet. This case is still proceeding through the courts.
Now there is a new and more basic threat emerging out of California. The American Federation for Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) has enforced a new and little noticed provision of the "Recorded Commercials Contract," which went into effect last October. The added provision requires advertisers to pay union talent a minimum 300% of their normal session fee when commercials originally recorded for radio use, are rebroadcast on the Internet. Of course these additional charges are likely to be retroactive to October 2000.
In what is being called "Fine Print-Gate," radio stations in Los Angeles, stopped streaming audio on the Internet April 10, while they scramble to sort out the problem.
Most agencies and clients insist this is a radio station responsibility and plan to pass the additional charges on to commercial AM and FM stations broadcasting on the Internet. Most clients and agencies claim they were unaware of their commercials being retransmitted on the Internet!
The streaming shutdown is quickly spreading to other cities where commercials recorded in Los Angeles could be airing. Agencies and clients using Los Angeles air talent are contacting radio stations throughout the U.S. insisting they cease and desist from streaming their commercials over the Internet. AFTRA is insisting that radio stations correspond and get approval from agencies and clients before airing commercials on their Internet streaming feed.
A letter sent to radio stations by Los Angeles agency Initiative Media read: "If you are streaming, and any of our commercials happen to be aired, you could be in danger of losing your terrestrial business without prior approval." Agencies and direct clients are initially responsible to talent for the fees.
A quick check of some of the big web sites in Los Angeles found no streaming audio, and messages such as this on Clear Channel's K-Big: "Due to continuing uncertainty over rights issues related to the streaming of radio broadcast programming over the Internet, including issues regarding demands for additional fees for the streaming of recorded music and radio commercials, we and our advertisers are forced to temporarily disable our streaming. We apologize for the inconvenience of this interruption. We are working with both our advertisers and the Recording Industry Association of America to find a solution to those problems as quickly as possible so that we can resume our streaming. "
The AFTRA ruling could also cause additional costs for radio stations using AFTRA air talent to voice-track and/or syndicate programming in other markets where the broadcast could be streamed on the Internet. This is all good news for the ad replacement companies, which was the hot product at the last NAB in San Francisco.
North of the border, there is good news as this new ruling does not affect "Internet Only," Canadian and foreign Internet radiobroadcasts. But how long will it be before the shiny suits, or the unions try playing this card in Canada? Watch this space. |