2007 Copyright Royalty Changes
In 2007, the United States Copyright Royalty Board passed a rate increase in the royalties payable to performers of recorded works broadcast on the internet.
The rates include a minimum fee of $500 (U.S.) per year, per channel with escalating fees for each song played. In 2006 (the decision is retroactive), the applicable fee would be $0.0008 per performance. Since a performance is defined as streaming one song to one listener, a webcaster with 10,000 listeners would pay 10,000 times the going rate for every streamed song. The fee structure increases each year with rates that more than double by 2009."[4]
If enforced, this decision will undermine the business models of many Internet radio stations.[5]
According to a report released in March 2007, under the newly proposed rates, annual fees for all station owners are projected to reach $2.3 billion by 2008. This figure is more than four times that for terrestrial radio broadcasters who, due to terms set forth in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, are exempt from the additional royalties imposed on digital broadcasting outlets, which compensate the performers of recorded works. Both terrestrial radio and Internet/digital radio broadcasters are responsible for royalties collected by performance rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) on behalf of the composers of recorded works.
Many performers of recorded works have voiced their opposition to the Copyright Royalty Board's rate increases, fearing that the rate increases would cripple the internet broadcasters that have given them valuable exposure. Others have proposed moving Internet broadcasts to foreign jurisdictions where US royalties do not apply. "For example, Mercora, a service that allows individuals to launch their own webcasts, has established a Canadian site that falls outside U.S. regulatory and royalty rules."[4][6]
On 26 April 2007, a new bill was proposed to reverse the CRB's decision.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_radio
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18384667/site/newsweek/
